RWBY - Volume 6
by MattHunX
Summary: Sequel to "It Has to Take a Village" and picking up just a tad later from where it left off, featuring family drama, expositional onslaught, pissed off Papa Schnee, sleazy businessmen, a tin-man, Jack Frost Jr., The Seven Dwarves and all the good little boys and girls.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note** : Sequel to "It Has to Take a Village" and picking up just a tad later from where it left off, featuring family drama, expositional onslaught, pissed off Papa Schnee, sleazy businessmen, a tin-man, Jack Frost Jr., The Seven Dwarves and all the good little boys and girls.

 **CLAIMER** (NO. Not "disclaimer". CLAIMER!): I've started writing this months ago. Any similarities you may notice between what I wrote and what happened in Volume 6, so far, are purely coincidental. I had block for a while and resumed writing a month before V6 premiered and have written at least half of this fic after that. I wanted to be done with it, before the volume premiered. But, I purposefully avoided using any ideas or themes introduced in V6, except for ones I coincidentally already wrote or already conceptualized and had in foot-notes, months before. I only took one...one thing that I saw in the trailer and included it in my fic. I wrote what it was, at the end.

 **Volume 6**

Ch. 1 – Across the Board

The sun was still rising higher from behind the mountains as over half-a-dozen ships flew in a v-formation towards the North. All of them filled with men and women of the White Fang. Some were nervous, others were eager to act, to reach their destination and to fight, if necessary. Voices both male and female were swirling.

 _"This is huge! All of us going to Atlas like this!"_

 _"Oh, I can't stand the cold! But, that's not gonna stop us! We're gonna show them!"_

 _"Man, I can't believe the High Leader is still alive!"_

 _"She's the Headmaster of Haven, now? I bet no one could see_ that _coming! Least of all_ her _!"_

 _"Us working with humans is major, but the Schnees? Things couldn't get any crazier."_

 _"Wow! The first-time I leave Menagerie and we're already going halfway around world!"_

 _"So, we're practically going to Atlas and hoping they don't start another war? Sheesh!"_

 _"Darn it, if I die, Kodi's gonna kill me! Then Mom'll kill me! And then Dad! And then his mom and dad!"_

A male voice was thinking that last one as Yang was assaulted by what she slowly realized to be the thoughts of everyone around her. Ironically, she could not even hear her own, in all that noise. She placed her hands to the side of her head as she was getting a headache. Blake noticed she was frantically looking around.

"Yang?" she asked, from next to her, but Yang kept turning to briefly stare at everyone. Across from them, Weiss was talking to Ruby, on her left side, as Winter sat on her right.

"How did you _not_ know that?" Weiss incredulously whispered to Ruby. _"There's no way she hadn't, at least, heard of it."_ she thought, referring to what Blake told them about how Ilia felt for her.

"I just never thought it was a thing." Ruby shrugged, looking at her lap, in embarrassment.

 _"How can you be so innocent?"_ Weiss thought, as she almost imperceptibly shook her head at her.

 _"How sheltered was her upbringing, until she went to Beacon?"_ Winter thought along the same lines as Weiss, looking at Ruby from the corner of her eyes.

 _"The hell was Leo thinkin'?"_ Yang found Qrow with her eyes, as he sat with his arms folded and eyes closed. The relic was in a secure cage-like casing, with a black cloth draped over it, at his feet. _"Oz can defend him all he wants, he sent 'em all t' die."_ He was seemingly asleep, but, in fact, deep in thought.

"Yang?" She heard Blake, again, but it was not in hear head and she turned to see a pair of yellow, worried eyes, looking at her. "What's wrong?" she asked, but instead of formulating a response, Yang had to bear another wave of thoughts. She shut her eyes and held her head, as the pressure was stronger. Then she abruptly stood and marched out of the hold they occupied to a more open and less crowded part of the ship, as Blake called after her. Ruby and Weiss looked at each other, silently asking each-other if they should follow them. Blake caught up to Yang, out on the narrow deck, by the guard-rail, on which Yang was supporting herself with both hands.

"Yang, say something! Please!" Blake cautiously put a hand on her shoulder.

"I...I have a headache." Yang lied by omission, shaking her head. "It's starting to go away." She was hearing fewer voices in her head, at least.

"That was more than a headache." Blake was not completely buying it. "You were looking around like you were seeing...something. Something that wasn't there. Maybe an illusion." she tried to guess. _"Emerald. Maybe she's still-..."_

"It wasn't _that_!" Yang interjected and Blake could tell it was not what she tried to pass it off as, either.

"Then what was it?" Blake pleadingly asked, wanting to help and Yang could see that.

"I...I'm not sure. Maybe I just...didn't have enough sleep. And I'm...imagining things." Yang leaned against the railing with a sigh.

"Are you sure?" Blake asked. "You can tell me anything." she added, placing a hand on hers, on the rail, as she faced her.

"I dunno know what's going on." Yang looked away.

 _"I'm here for you."_ Yang heard Blake say or she thought she said it and she looked up at her.

"Thanks. I know are." Yang told her, flipping her hand to hold the one Blake placed on hers, as she looked at her and Blake blinked in surprise and confusion.

"I...didn't say anything." Blake told her and Yang mirrored her expression.

"You just said...you're here for me." Yang stated.

"I...was only..." Blake's eyes slowly widened. She stared at Yang, who gaped at her like she just heard her, again and they both stared at each other, mortified.

"What do you think is going on?" They heard Weiss's voice coming from the hold, getting louder.

"I hope they're not arguing!" Ruby's voice was closer and both of them came through the entryway, before they saw them and stopped. Blake and Yang let go of each other and took a step back. Weiss could see they might have interrupted a moment, while Ruby looked equal parts confused and worried.

"Yang...?" Ruby turned to her. "You two aren't...fighting...are you?" she asked.

"We're not." Blake told her, reassuringly.

"I just got a huge headache." Yang quickly said and could see Blake briefly stared at her in surprise. "Needed some air." she added, glancing at Blake to play along.

"That's right. I...was worried it was something serious." Blake nodded.

"So were we." Weiss stated, looking at Ruby, who seemed to relax. She gave a small smile before the view, below them, caught her eye and she let out a long gasp, as she walked to the guard-rails.

"Wooow..." Ruby whispered, already past any worrying. Blake glanced at Yang and both knew they dodged having to explain things. Weiss looked between them, though, not in suspicion that they were hiding anything, but merely because of how they found them. Yang could hear, in her head, she was not as easily distracted as Ruby and that she was still curious what happened or what was still happening between them. Yang exchanged looks with Blake, again. "Look! Birdies!" Ruby exclaimed and they all turned to look at what she spotted.

"Ruby...I think those are..." Blake started to say.

"Nevermores!" Ruby giddily said, realizing what they actually were.

"Do you _have to_ sound so excited?" Weiss shook her head as an officer above them, on the upper deck, snapped to attention and brought up a pair of binoculars to look.

"Got a flock of Nevermores, Ma'am!" he spoke into a radio to their Captain, as their ship was at the head of the formation they assumed with the other vessels. "Doesn't look like they're heading for us, unless a lot of the folks on-board suddenly got all depressed or something." he quipped as the flock was peacefully passing across their heading.

"Not funny, Alistair!" A female voice sternly responded. "Keep an eye on them! The last thing we need is those things swooping down on us." she added.

"Yes, Ma'am! Sorry, Ma'am!" he quickly responded. "Swooping is bad." he muttered to himself.

"We're good?" Yang raised her voice to ask him.

"Yeah. No need to get trigger-happy, just yet." He waved it away.

"He clearly haven't met _you_." Weiss quietly told Ruby, arms folded, with a small smile, leaning closer without looking at her and she could feel her smiling back.

"You kids should head inside! We're gonna be passing through some colder currents. It'll get even chillier as we get closer to the sea. Even worse when we'll be passing over it." The officer told them.

"That's true." Weiss stated. "We really shouldn't stay outside in that." she added and kept looking expectantly at the others, but they merely waited, probably for one of them to start towards the hold. "Really? None of you is going to make a joke about me, the Ice Queen, being afraid of the cold?" Weiss asked, almost genuinely disappointed.

"Oh. Right. I forgot." Yang was not exactly in the mood for jokes, otherwise, she would have surely made one, already. She could tell Weiss wrote her missing the opportunity off to the headache she said she had, as they went back inside.

...

Arthur Watts sat at the helm of a small, fast, sleek, airship that looked like a modified and customized version of the ones used in Mistral, except it did not have sails for wings, but used the more modern propulsion systems of the ones from Atlas, instead. Focused on his piloting, he flinched in annoyance from the high-winds and lightning around them. The moon was obscured by the clouds that heralded a larger storm he knew they would soon pass through.

A deck below him, in the lounge, Mercury smashed a full bottle of liquor he did not even drink from against the wall and leaned back at the table he was sitting at, fuming from the humiliating defeat they should not have had. He would be damned if actually started drinking and he was not going to give even his dead Oldman the satisfaction of seeing that.

In the ship's own small infirmary, Hazel set in silence, still in the clothes that were soaked in his own blood. He crushed the last of his fire-dust crystals in his shaking hand. His rapidly recharging aura already began healing his mostly self-inflicted wounds, before he could feel the effects of blood-loss. Shutting his eyes, he slowly breathed in and out as beads of sweat slid down his face. Pain was something he did not need to concern himself with, ever since discovering his semblance, but he was fully aware that what he did to himself still took a toll on his body, even if he could not feel it.

On the same deck, where the personal quarters were, in a cabin that, judging by appearance, was not even her own, Emerald was lying a bed with red, satin sheets that could not darken any further, from soaking, as her eyes ran dry. She was unable to cry anymore, even though she wanted to. Her eyes were open just enough that one could have seen nearly all life was gone from them.

They were all far too distracted by either navigating over the raging sea, quietly boiling in anger, tending to their own wounds or getting consumed by grief to be aware of a stowaway in their cargo hold. One, who was filled with hate. Adam sat, his red aura flickering around him, in the dark, as he healed himself inside a container he hid in. He looked at his own blood that stained his gloved hand and clenched his fist, as they flew above troubled waters, which seemed to be more unnaturally chaotic the farther they went.

...

On the bridge of the leading ship, Winter joined the Captain, who was wearing the goggled mask that was typically worn by the police and the military, looking out in front of them.

"What is our estimated time of arrival?" Winter asked the Captain.

"We won't be there for another few hours. Our ships aren't as fast as yours, you know." she replied to the perceived impatience with their speed.

"Evidently." Winter muttered, but the Captain was not going to let a small criticism affect her.

"Say they'll let us through the blockade. I'm still not thrilled to see how they'll respond when all of these White Fang will come pouring out of our ships." the Captain admitted.

"We haven't made it through all the trouble to accidentally start another war." Winter stated.

"Let's hope not." came the reply. "That would be a long and awkward report." she added and Winter gave her comment a unamused side-glance.

On the same ship, Ghira looked to his side to see Ilia was quietly sitting and staring into her own lap. He could tell she was nervous about returning to the kingdom where she lost her parents. A kingdom that did not care. Where hatred and prejudice towards the Faunus was the worst and where their kind was mistreated and exploited the most. He placed a hand on her shoulder, surprising her and bringing her out of her reverie. She turned to look up at the large man she nearly betrayed, seeing nothing but genuine concern and kindness in his eyes.

"I realize how difficult this journey will be for you. Even just to _see_ the kingdom itself, again." he told her and Ilia averted his eyes.

"I…I just don't know what I'll find there." Ilia said, afraid of the past. "Maybe, it'd be better if _didn't_ find anything. Any _one_. How can I ask our people, there, for help, after what I did?"

"It already took courage to stand with us. And I can feel that this will take just as much. I'm glad my daughter could discover what took me decades to learn. And she did it, because of the kind of people her _friends_ are. Remember _that_. And not what you _didn't_ do. It helped you in Menagerie and in Mistral. And it will help you in Atlas." he told her and Ilia was overwhelmed by the support he was giving her, despite what she nearly did.

"Thank you..." she whispered and Ghira nodded with a smile.

Team RWBY came walking back and Yang slowed as they passed Ilia and Ghira. The dreadful thoughts she felt from her were slowly fading as she was starting to feel better. Blake noticed Yang's pause and kept pace with her, falling behind Ruby and Weiss.

"What is it?" Blake stepped closer to Yang, whispering. "Is it Ilia?" she asked, somewhat worriedly.

"Yeah. But...it's okay. She's…feeling a little better." Yang stated.

"Yang, how are you...?" Blake attempted to ask. "How did this happen?" she kept whispering and her thoughts kept racing, some of which Yang could hear.

"I dunno." Yang whispered back. "And I can't hear _everything_ , so stop trying not to think. Because all you're thinking is how I'm reading all of it. And I'm _not_. Only, like, every second thought. Yeah, I _know_ it's scary. You think I'm not freaked out?" She was trying not to raise her voice, then noticed from Blake's stare that she _was_ freaking out and that she was voicing Blake's own thoughts, before _she_ could. Yang took a few seconds to compose herself and Blake waited.

"You're not going to tell anyone else?" Blake asked.

"No! I wanna figure it out, first." Yang replied.

"So…when did it start?" Blake wondered.

"After we took off...I guess. Maybe sooner. I just...didn't know, I...I couldn't tell it was happening." Yang said.

"What do you think could've started it?" Blake speculated and Yang could hear it.

"I don't think it's got anything to do with my semblance. That's for sure. And it can't be a Maiden power." Yang stated and Blake did not even have to ask all of that. "It's just...I can't turn it off. It kinda comes and goes. Sometimes I can hear _everyone_ , then barely _anyone_." She shrugged. "I'm gonna have to control it. Then I'll tell the others. Maybe." she added, unsure of how the others would take it or how she would be even able to live with it. She looked towards her sister.

 _"Oh, it's gonna be so cool to see Atlas! Weiss always makes it sounds so clean...and big! And kinda...serious. Oh, we've gotta see the CCT! I hope we can see all the sights, like in Mistral!"_ Yang heard Ruby's thoughts as she was smiling at Weiss and the latter was raising a brow at her, mentally sighing.

 _"Hhh. What's going on in that head of yours."_ Weiss was thinking as she looked at Ruby's face, seeing she was daydreaming.

"Oh, sorry!" Ruby realized she was drifting off. "I was just thinking about all the things they have there. I mean, in Atlas." she quickly added, in case it was not clear where and Weiss lowered her eyes at her.

 _"She'll definitely want to see the tower. I should take her there, after all of this is over. Or maybe before that."_ Weiss suddenly looked worried, thinking they might not have time for any of it, especially if one obstacle they will have to deal with is her father. She noticed Ruby was slightly tilting her head and was giving her a concerned look, as she had to be showing her worry on her face.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"We'll have time to see everything. I promise." Weiss smiled at her, unconsciously placing a reassuring hand on hers and Ruby blinked, before her infectious smile returned.

Yang looked away from them, feeling like she was intruding, but she was also trying to get a handle on her sudden ability. She found Qrow, again, who was actually half a sleep and falling deeper into it. His thoughts were scattered and Yang could only catch some words as they swirled around in that ether.

 _"Ye'r crazy...'f ya think, y'can...Damn it, Oz!...Ye'r holdin' out on me...not a damn one...it's his fault...rotten luck, pal...another round...it's my...it was my...my fault...she's gone...I'm sorry, Tai-...!"_ Qrow suddenly woke up and Yang pulled herself back, out of his mind, even though part of her wanted to hear more. He glanced around and raised a brow when he noticed Yang's stare. She looked away and Qrow mentally shrugged, then closed his eyes, again. Yang turned to see Blake was giving her a curious look that turned somewhat worried.

 _"Please, don't be reading my thoughts."_ she thought.

"Sorry." Yang shrugged, letting her know she accidentally did and Blake's eyes briefly widened, before she averted her them.

 _"Don't think! Just don't think!"_ Blake was telling herself.

"Told you that won't work." Yang muttered. Blake stared at her, again and looked away with an uncomfortable sigh. "Yeah...we should just talk about something." she added, picking up on her last thought. "Maybe it'll stop if I'm not really trying to make it happen." She shrugged.

"Okay." Blake nodded in agreement.

"So...your folks are nice." Yang tried to stir the conversation. "Your dad's a big softy." she smirked.

"He is." Blake smiled.

"Didn't know I was hanging out with the daughter of a Chieftain. Sure couldn't've called he used to be the leader of the White Fang." Yang stated, raising a brow and Blake had a guilty look, ashamed she hid it and of how she parted from her parents, before going to Beacon. "It's fine. I get why you didn't tell me...us." she told her, including their team, before Blake would apologize. "Your mom seems nice, too." Yang let out a small snicker. "She really didn't like that Sienna woman, huh." Yang brought up what Sun pointed out.

"I...don't really know anything about that." Blake really had no knowledge of her mother's past with Sienna.

"They both look feisty." Yang smirked. "Maybe your dad had a thing with Sienna, before your mom." Yang shrugged as Blake looked uncomfortably at her. "What? Can't be more complicated than _my_ family." she added, folding her arms.

...

Kali Belladonna was departing to go back to Menagerie with a dozen White Fang volunteers, all still clad in their civics with a few armor paddings and plates strapped over them, same as their brothers and sisters who were on their way to Atlas. The ship lent to them was taking off from right in front of Haven Academy and as she ascended the ramp with the men and women, nodding an appreciative farewell to the officers, she could feel they were being watched.

Sienna stood in the window of her office, with folded arms and Kali turned to meet her eyes through the window, having sensed them. She gave a small glare, at first, but it softened and she nodded to her, probably as a sign of wishing her good luck, despite whatever differences they had. Sienna had a small frown and as the ship took off she turned to look at the four remaining students, in team ABRN, who were silently standing in front of her desk, waiting for whatever she would say, if anything. They nervously shifted and Sienna sighed, looking at the ceiling, mentally asking how it all came to be that she was left running a huntsmen academy.

…

General James Ironwood stood in his office, gazing out at its reinforced window, from on high. He watched as gunships and guardsmen patrolled the sky and the ground that expanded over the decades from the foundations of the new kingdom, the first of which was the huntsmen academy, now the seat of the government and its military headquarters, all in one. No street or corner was left unmonitored and no unit and non-combatant personnel ever lost sight of another as they moved about, unaffected by the low temperature, as heat-generators and sealed domes were built over the modern years that formed the artificial biomes that the hearth of the capital was now housed in and protected by. Active gun-emplacements and vehicle-mounted defenses dotted the concrete forest, even within the city, all of which could have been covered, were it not for the heightened security. A small holographic screen, the size of a laptop, was projected over Ironwood's desk, with what appeared to be walls of texts and map-references he was likely tired of looking at. There was a small bar in the right corner, behind him, close to the window, with an empty glass he did not clean and a bottle that was started.

A knock at his door made him turn his head from the scene that no longer brought him comfort or insurance of their strength, no matter how prepared he felt they were. Not after what happened to his forces at Beacon. He briefly touched his own face, with his good hand, to feel the five o'clock shadow he let remain on it, again. Then he answered the door from where he stood.

"Yes?" he prompted whoever was outside to enter and a female officer opened the door, cautiously, then, seeing he was not in a bad or a good mood, walked in, more briskly.

"General, Sir." she saluted. "The forward scouts we left in Mistral reported in. A message was just relayed of an attempted attack on Haven Academy and that it was stopped by…a…group of children and the White Fang." she added, somewhat skeptically, finding it hard to believe and Ironwood raised a brow in surprise.

…

The marble halls of the Schnee Estate echoed from Jacque Schnee's voice, coming from his study.

"She _what_!?" He was talking into the phone and listened to the voice at the other end, as Whitley quietly stood, waiting for him to finish. He watched, completely unperturbed as his father's face twitched from annoyance. "She thinks her sister can _protect_ her?" he asked, more calmly and it sounded as if he was issuing a challenge to what he thought was an affront to his authority over his daughter.

"From what I've seen, your daughter can protect herself just fine." Ironwood told him with some smugness, having a slight smile, on the other end and he knew it would get under his skin.

"I don't care if she can slay a _dragon_!" Jacque exaggerated, raising his voice. "She will be punished for making me look like an utter fool who cannot even discipline his own child!" he said. "Her escape cost even more than her scene at the fundraiser!"

"So I've heard." Ironwood recalled how the media reported on it, after some information was leaked.

"Then you know that as soon as they set foot in the city, I want her brought to me!" Jacque said.

"Half-a-dozen ships won't be hard to rein in. It's not like they can just slip through a secret tunnel." Ironwood made one last dig and hung up, before Jacque could explode. Whitely did not even flinch as his father slammed his fist down, with the phone in it and watched, in silence, as he contemplated the situation. Then he spoke to him, quietly.

"Tell the guards and the staff that everyone is to keep a close eye out. Anyone could still be colluding with your sister. Therefore, no one enters the estate and no one leaves, until she is returned. Understood?" he asked and Whitley nodded.

"Yes, father." he said and turned to leave with an almost sinister smile.

"They know what can happen to those who help her." Jacque added the thinly veiled threat, as Whitley left to delight in passing it on.

Meanwhile, a pair of gentle blue eyes gazed at a beam of light that shined through a tiny, sealed window of a mostly dark prison cell, where Klein Sieben quietly sat on a small bed, hoping that both Weiss and Winter were safe.

…

"A _spider_ -girl shooting webs? A _bat_ -guy with wings? And _Mermaids_?" Yang quietly listed, as Blake was telling her what happened in Menagerie, having never heard of such Faunus.

"Well, not mermaids. Not like in the stories." Blake corrected that image in her head.

"Sounds like Menagerie really lives up to its name, I guess. I mean, can you imagine those guys in a _fight_?" Yang asked and Blake stared at her. "Oh. Right." Yang realized she did not have to. "I still can't believe you're like _royalty_ over there."

"I'm not _royalty_!" Blake whispered, blushing from embarrassment and tried to keep her voice down.

"Okay. A celebrity, then." Yang said, calmingly.

"Not even _that_. No one outside Menagerie or the White Fang knows who I am. At least, no one ever recognizes me. And that's a good thing." She paused to reconsider, given recent events. "Or…it was. Now, people don't have to be afraid of us, anymore." she added.

"Well, we weren't scared when you…sort of told us, back at Beacon. Even if it wasn't the whole truth." Yang quietly said and continued. "That didn't change who you are for me." she added and Blake turned away to hide a blush at the complement she still felt she did not truly deserve. And from Yang, of all people. "And don't say you don't deserve it." Yang flatly added and Blake stared at her, in even deeper embarrassment. She buried her face in her hands, leaning forward with a groan. Yang let out a quiet chuckle, folding her arms. She looked up, across from them, to see Ruby had her head on Weiss' shoulder as she was dozing off.

 _"It's also...a gun...it's...a cookie...chocolate chip...nooo...come baaack."_ Yang heard her odd dreamy thoughts as she started to drool.

 _"Hm? What is Yang looking at?"_ She heard Weiss think, before the latter turned her head to see a drop of saliva threatening to fall on her and she mentally gasped. _"No! No!...Please, no! I don't want to wake her up!"_ she thought, frozen up.

"Your attention, please!" The female voice that was not the Captain's came over the intercom and it woke Ruby up.

"Hrh, huh?" With a small snort, she raised her head, not quite perked up, but awake enough to notice the drool, which she wiped from her mouth and Weiss let out a sigh of relief.

"We'll be reaching the Atlesian Blockade, soon! Please remain in your seats or return to them and secure yourselves." The announcement said and Winter did the opposite. She unfastened her seatbelt and stood.

"I'll have to be on the bridge to speak to whoever oversees the blockade." she told Weiss and the others, then left, glancing at Qrow, who could tell she silently told him to stay.

"It's time to see if Atlas will be an ally." Ghira stated. Oscar unbuckled himself and stood from his seat.

"W-We have to be there!" Oscar said and Winter stopped to turn and look at him. "We have to convince James, I-I mean, the _General_ , we don't mean any harm." He was being urged by Ozpin, on the inside. Winter suspected as much, although she felt that she herself would have been enough to vouch for them.

"Follow me." she told him and moved along.

"Shouldn't we go with them?" Ruby asked, leaning out to look at her Uncle.

"Nah. You heard her." Qrow shrugged, nodding at Weiss, next to her.

"But...she didn't say anything about that." Ruby pointed out.

"Exactly. And what does that tell ya, in her language." Qrow pointed out.

"He's right." Weiss sighed.

On the bridge, a screen turned on, in front of their Captain, who was arguing with the one in charge of the blockade, as Winter and Oscar walked in.

"Our borders are closed to any and all travel." he roughly stated.

"Sounds familiar. Didn't you say it, like, two sentences ago?" Their Captain was sassing him.

"You are to turn your ships around or your approach will be taken as an act of hostility and will be dealt with as such!" he warned.

"Hostility...hospitality...so close in a dictionary, don't you think?" she replied.

"You are deliberately trying my-..." his words were caught in his throat, when saw Winter. "Specialist Schnee, Ma'am!" Her position might not have made him directly her subordinate, but it was not why she was respected and feared, almost, if not, as much as the General.

"I want to be granted safe passage to Headquarters, immediately! Time is of the essence." she said, without so much as a greeting.

"But, Ma'am...only General Ironwood can grant such a request. I do not have the authority to let anyone pass at my discretion. You understand." he replied.

"Then I wish to speak to the General." Winter replied.

"O-of course, Ma'am." he nodded and hastily began opening a channel. He nodded to someone, off-screen and a few long seconds later, the face of General Ironwood showed up, with the window of his office in the background.

"Winter." He was not completely surprised, considering the reports he received in advance.

"Sir." She clicked her heels together, saluting him somewhat awkwardly, given how she disobeyed orders to stay in Mistral.

"I wasn't expecting you so soon. Our scouts barely had time to relay their reports about the attack on Haven. I didn't..." he trailed off and raised a brow as Oscar slowly stepped forward, when he noticed him. "Who is this?" he asked, as the boy could not have looked more out of place.

"Um…it's nice to see you're using your scouts, instead of a flagbearer." Oscar told him, as he was also listening to the voice inside and it took Ironwood only a second to understand and recall they were Ozpin's words as he silently stared. His eyes wavered as he looked Oscar up and down, realizing who and what he was.

"Ozpin..." he whispered and Oscar nodded. Ironwood looked down and pressed a button they could not see on screen. "Captain, let their ships through and provide them with an escort to Headquarters!" he said, with urgency.

"Sir?" The Captain was slightly taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor.

"Now!" Ironwood raised his voice some.

"Yes, sir!" came the reply.

A short silence followed as Ironwood kept staring at Oscar and it occurred to him that if he was standing there, Winter had to know the truth. He looked at her and she gave him a small glare, obviously upset about having been kept in the dark and she averted her eyes.

"Well, that went well!" The Captain said, placing her hands on her hips. "Don't know what secret _pass-phrase_ the boy just told you..." She nodded at Oscar, next to her. "But he sure spared me some headache with your men. You know, we figured your military didn't turtle up completely. You had to 've left some behind to keep an eye on things." she said as she gestured with one hand.

"Apparently any further reports couldn't stay ahead of you, even considering the speed of your ships." Ironwood remarked and the Captain raised a brow under her masked face, slightly tilting her head as a sign of annoyance at the comment on their speed, again.

"Then...you're aware of the situation." Winter understood.

"I've already been briefed on the attack. But, I wouldn't mind hearing the details from you, in person." Ironwood meaningfully nodded.

"You will, sir." Winter stated and slightly hung her head, chancing another glare at him, which he caught. He felt just as awkward about their meeting as her.

"It's only been half-a-day." he said, after a brief pause. "I didn't think you would arrive with a small fleet." he commented. "We'll talk, soon. There's something your sister should know, as well, before you arrive." Ironwood cautioned her and Winter narrowed her eyes. The Atlesian ships stood down and made way for them.

...

Feeling as the ship touched down, Adam waited until he felt certain no one would see him come out. What he saw upon emerging from the cargo hold was a realm unlike any he had seen anywhere on Remnant. The sky was a deep, dark purplish black and the shattered moon shone its light on a desolate, rocky surface, where the sharp edges of large purple crystals looked like they would come alive and try to impale anyone foolish enough to tread close to them. But, all of that was far from being the most disturbing aspect of the place. From pitch black puddles creatures of Grimm crawled forth as if the foul liquid itself gave birth to them and it reminded Adam of the dragon at the battle of Beacon. He rarely, if ever, felt he had overstepped or thought he was out of his depth, but where he was, at the moment, was somewhere he knew no living person should have been.

He spotted Cinder's associates, calmly lead by Watts, followed by Hazel, Mercury and a lagging Emerald, as they made their way to an ominous edifice that looked more like a temple than a castle or a fort. The Grimm were ignoring them, but that did not surprise Adam, from all he had seen at Beacon. Whoever they were working for obviously had power and influence, even over the soulless beasts. Adam remained at a distance, but noticed that as the last of them made it inside, the Grimm suddenly became agitated, as if whatever force had been keeping them docile was no longer exerting its control over them. He hurried and slipped inside, as the giant gates slammed themselves shut. Adam took cover behind a pillar and knelt in the shadows, waiting for them to move further in, but they stopped. He looked up to the top of the stairs, where a pale, feminine figure clad in a dark robe waited. Her unnatural complexion was emphasized even more as she stood in the moon's light and her black-on-red eyes stood out, even from a distance. Adam gritted his teeth, gripped, for the first time, in a long while, by a feeling that was uncomfortably close to fear. He could not even begin to guess who or what he was seeing. Watts' voice snapped him out of the creeping thoughts.

"Ma'am." Watts placed a hand in front of his chest as he gave a slight bow, before putting it behind his back with the other. Unlike the rest, he was not disheveled and worn down from fighting, but he also did not appear to be nervous or even upset, as he waited for her to speak. No fault for their failure at Haven lied with him, as far as he was concerned. But, he still hoped to gauge how upset Salem was. The latter did not say a word, as she seemingly glided down the stairs, past Watts, who raised a brow, as she passed him.

"Ma'am." Hazel's deep voice still had strength even as he addressed her softly and cautiously, stepping out of her way. Mercury flinched as he stood aside, giving her a nervous glare as he wondered what she was about to do.

Salem stopped in front of Emerald and reached out with hand that Adam could see had red veins running in them, as she placed a finger under her chin to lift her head, making her meet her nightmarish gaze. Emerald did not even dare to breathe as Salem's eyes drifted to the dried tears on her face, before she put her hand back down.

"You...are strong, child. You have a formidable power that has grown. We lost a great asset, but we have also gained one." she stated with a slight smile and her sinister stare made Emerald question if her obviously developing semblance was truly a good thing for her or was she about to become another, powerful pawn Salem could place on the board, turning her life even more upside down than it already was. Not that it truly mattered to her, as all she could still think about was Cinder and, now, how quickly she could meet the same fate as her. "And we may have _another_."

Salem added and from the corner of her eyes she looked directly into Adam's, who took a step backwards, only to sense movement behind him. Something lashed out at him from the dark and he jumped away, out into the open, driving it away with his sheathed sword, which he drew as he took a stance. A crazed laugh sounded from where the attack came from and it grew louder and more erratic as a figure emerged. It looked almost completely human, except his whole body was covered in what appeared to be white, thin armor-like shells, similar to that of Grimm, and its face was hidden behind a mask, with glowing red markings on it. The same glow could be seen through the holes where eyes should have been. Adam realized what exactly it was that attacked him as he saw a scorpion's tale wildly flapping around behind it and it looked as if it was taken directly off of a smaller Death-stalker, though it was common knowledge that taking limbs and parts off of Grimm was impossible. Then again, he already saw things, in just the last few minutes, that went directly against common knowledge and common sense. Watts had a somewhat proud smirk as the creature lowered itself close to the ground and came forth on its hands and feet, menacingly pointing its stinger at Adam.

"What the hell...?" Mercury whispered as Emerald stared in shock, along with Hazel.

"Tyrian..." Hazel muttered, barely recognizing the man, if he could even call him that, anymore, he thought. Tyrian began circling Adam as he continued to maniacally cackle.


	2. Chapter 2

Ch. 2 – Luke Warm Welcome

Adam bared his teeth as he stood facing the animal the man was turned into. It kept laughing and occasionally licked its lips, flashing a twisted grin with its exposed mouth, as it was covered only up to the chin by the armored shell. He tightly held his sword and his hand was slightly shaking. To his own dismay, it was not just the fatigue and his wounds that was causing it. Letting the feral creature out of his sight, even just to glance at the others, was a mistake he was not going to make, nor could he afford it. He understood what the situation was. A test. And considering what happened to the man called Tyrian, in front of him, failure could have meant a fate far worse than death. The scorpion struck with its stinger, first and kept alternating between it and the mounted blades on its wrist, effectively attacking from three angles. Adam was just barely fast enough to block and deflect all of them, but was unable to counter-attack. The ceaseless mad laughter drained him even more, as it grated on his nerves, while his stamina was being pushed to its limits.

Tyrian began flipping over him, trying to slice him and swipe his legs with his tail and his legs, twisting, spinning and rolling around, until he actually managed, in all the flurry. He tripped Adam with his leg and hit him with his tail, sending him tumbling to the side, where he was stopped by the wall. His remaining aura flickered out as he was getting to his feet. Lifting his head as he heard what sounded like a pair of guns being loaded, he saw barrels had extended from the top of his opponent's wrist-blades. In a split second, a hail of bullets flew his way that ricocheted off the blade of his sword, which he was spinning in front of him like a propeller. His blade glowed red and Adam sheathed his sword, taking a stance, with his hand on the hilt. Tyrian stopped laughing and tilted his head in momentary confusion, then, he started cackling, once more, enjoying his prey's seemingly unusual move, as Adam left himself wide open. Tyrian took a step towards him.

"That will be enough, Tyrian." Salem softly spoke as he was about to launch himself at Adam, taking his bait. The others glanced at her in surprise. Watts looked on with some disappointment, not realizing Salem stopped Tyrian from making a potentially fatal mistake. The latter crawled, on all fours, to her side, where he obediently crouched, letting out quiet laughs. Adam exhaled and tried to slow his breathing, keeping his grip on his sword. "Tell me...what were you fighting for, right now, Adam Taurus?" She addressed him by name and even though her familiarity with him was not surprising, it still unnerved him. He did not quite understand the meaning behind her question and she could probably tell as she continued. "Was it merely for survival? Is that all what the world has left you with? A born leader, disgraced and now...a pariah, even among his own kind." She referred to the Faunus. "Or do you want to live, to make them answer for it?"

"You can save your breath!" Adam retorted. "I would gladly see humanity burn!" he exclaimed. "But, I haven't lost my mind, so that I'd want the Faunus and the rest of Remnant to perish with them! Don't think I'm going to let you turn me into something like _that_ , either." He nodded at Tyrian.

"You have proven you are strong enough without it." Salem commended him. "You are clearly a man of conviction Adam and even though you were willing to sacrifice yourself and your brethren at Haven, your _heritage_ still holds you back, it seems." She was referring to how, despite his lapse in judgement at Haven that was borne from desperation, Adam would never want to destroy his own kind. "However..." A malicious gleam briefly flashed across Salem's eyes, as she developed a sinister smile. "That can be helped." Her eyes glowed and Adam resumed his stance, ready to defend himself against whatever intent she had.

...

Through the airship's small, thick, round windows, groups of three or four people looked to see as the shores of Solitas come into view, gleaming in the afternoon sun. The green tundra immediately drew some surprise from many, who never saw it and who were convinced it was all ice and snow. They marveled at the dwarf shrubs, sedges, mosses, and lichens that grew on the vast, treeless, grassy plains they soared above, as flocks of seagulls migrated from one spot to the next, while muskoxen grazed farther inland, in the distance.

"Look! There're some trees, over there!" One White Fang member pointed out a few for his equally excited comrades.

"Wow. I never thought I'd see people this excited to see trees." Sun commented, from a different window.

"It's not as grey as I thought it would be." Blake said, with some excitement.

"It looks so…serene." Ghira was also excited to see it for the first time.

Ruby pried her nose away from the pane, before she fogged it up with her breath and took her scroll out to take pictures, clicking away with the shutter. She moved behind Yang and Blake, to get them in the frame, as they were beside a window.

"Say cheese!" she exclaimed and Blake's brief surprise at her sudden appearance turned to a small smile and Yang managed one of her own. Ruby looked to the side, a few windows down, to see Weiss was gazing melancholically out at her homeland. It was not happiness or even relief she saw on her face, but an uneasiness that made her worried.

…

Back in the Kingdom of Vale, the late-afternoon sun slowly started to set on the small island of Patch. In complete contrast to the splendid atmosphere outside, in the tense silence of his home, Taiyang let out a deep sigh as he sat on the single dark-green couch he moved to the middle of the living room, with his head hung. He tried not to let anger take over him, from all he had been told by the person sitting across from him on the sofa.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked and slowly looked up at the woman who was the mother of his first child. The one who abandoned him and their daughter, running from responsibility, to hide behind a, now, broken facade of confidence and ruthlessness. Her cowardice and hypocrisy, exposed and thrown in her face by their own daughter, was bare for Taiyang to see. Raven stared ahead of her, not meeting his gaze, for she felt her eyes were welling and knew they would strip away what remained of her pride with every tear she would shed. Taiyang let out another deep sigh.

"I thought Yang would find you. I thought the worst you could do, after everything, would be to just shut her out and destroy any hope in her of ever having a relationship with you. And then you..." His voice was slowly rising. "Then you make a deal with the people who work for _Salem!_? And then you double-cross everyone. Your _own family_! You nearly get my _daughters_ killed! And their _friends_! And your _brother_!" He was yelling and Raven was unresponsive, letting it all cut into her, as she felt she deserved it. Zwei growled at her from next to him and Taiyang saw he needed to calm himself. The lessons he taught his daughters also applied to him, he reminded himself. "Why did you even come here? After all this time? Why now? Why after... _this_?"

"I..." Raven struggled to say as the answer and realization only really hit her, then. "I have no one." she said, in a barely audible whisper. The tribe she considered her family was not only a world away, but there was no one left, there, who was actually close enough to her. Not a single one she bonded with and could go to with her semblance. The only ones she ever thought she needed to be but a portal's step away from she betrayed. One died for her. And the last of them, she was sitting across from, in penitence. "I screwed up..." she whispered.

"Repeating it won't make things better." Tai told her, as Raven started her explanation to him with the same phrase, her first words to him, after all the years. While admission was a step in the right direction, saying it, again and again, would help no one. Raven was well aware, but she could say nothing else. She was broken, beyond any hope for redemption, let alone forgiveness. All she could do, now, was wallow in guilt and let it consume her. She wanted it to. But, that would have been the easy way out. And both of them knew. "Don't think for a second I'll just let you eat yourself up on the inside, either. That would be kindness. And you don't deserve that." Taiyang coldly said and Raven felt it sting. Despite his usual warm and easy approach, it was something he could not calmly absorb or treat with understanding. Not when the lives of his daughters had been put at risk by Raven's selfishness and arrogance.

…

Their escort ships moved into a tighter formation around them, as the walls and barriers of the capital could be finally seen in the distance and soon they were flying over the different districts, the first being industrial, commercial, residential and finally the very center and symbol of Atlas' development and prosperity, the grounds of the academy itself, with its different wings and laboratories surrounded by the offices for every facet of its government. Nearly everything was shielded by the same type of glass domes they saw on Amity Colosseum. Together with the fire-dust powered heat-generators constructed and guarded around the place, it formed a habitable environment that was far more suitable for living than what was outside. The thick glass domes partially retracted to allow airships to land on the raised platforms of the busy and heavily protected ports. The docking platforms opened directly to the wide courtyard of the academy, the middle of which was left unshielded to allow snow to form on the natural polar grass that was most common in the region. A rare display by the kingdom's contemporary architects keeping aesthetics in mind and not just function.

Winter let out a sigh and pensively waited as their ship was anchored, with Weiss, Ruby, Qrow and Oscar standing directly behind her, followed by Ghira, Blake and the rest. The ramp was lowered and Atlesian soldiers formed a half-circle at the foot of it, standing at the ready. Seeing the uniforms of the Mistral military caused no alarm as Ironwood approached them with an escort. Ilia stopped at the top of the ramp and sensing her trepidation Blake placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and she weakly smiled at her in appreciation, before starting down. Ironwood recognized all the familiar faces as they reached the ground. But, he stopped in his tracks when he saw dozens, if not, more than a hundred Faunus file out of the ships, clad in civilian clothing, but armed with swords and shields that bore the old, but all too familiar symbol of the White Fang. His soldiers raised their weapons.

"Lower your weapons!" he raised a hand, commanding his men.

"Surprised ye didn't just shoot right off the bat there, Jimmy!" He heard and saw Qrow, walking behind Winter.

"I know they are not the enemy." Ironwood stated.

"Yep! They're here t' help! The Fang, as you know it, is over." he added and noticed his appearance as they were a few paces from him. "Huh. You look like crap." Qrow commented, as he looked at his face.

"Nice to see you, too." Ironwood dryly replied. "Help with _what_ exactly? And what do you mean they are over?" he asked, not missing a beat to question him. Ghira stepped forward from next to Blake and Ironwood looked at him with familiarity.

"General Ironwood, allow me to explain." he started. "I am Ghira Belladonna and I…led the White Fang, once. Now, I am its leader, once again."

"I know who are." Ironwood told him and looked at Blake. "I had my suspicions that…Miss Belladonna used to be affiliated, but I had no idea just how close or if she was, indeed, related to you. Most of the world only knows Sienna Khan's name. They hardly remember the peaceful protests the Fang has kept itself to, under _you._ "

"I...need not explain much, then." Ghira was relieved. "I thank you for welcoming us without hostility, General. And as for all my men…" he looked at them disembarking from the other ships to stand and stretch their limbs out, in loose formations. "We are here to lend any strength we can to defend Atlas. The academy and the kingdom."

"Our kingdom, as a whole, may not be so welcoming, but I'm stating the obvious." Ironwood said. "Nevertheless, I have been given enough reasons not to mistrust you." Ironwood shook his hand. "And those who follow you." He looked at Blake. "And not just, recently." he added, nodding at her, likely referring to her actions at Beacon and Ghira noticed it.

"Thank you! But, I would say, it is the other way around." Ghira said and both Ironwood and Blake gave him a quizzical look. "My daughter isn't the one who is following me. It is, in fact, _me_ , who is following her. And her friends." he looked around at the others.

"D-a-a-d." Blake groaned and brushed her hair to the side, slightly embarrassed.

"It is true." Ghira told her and a brief silence fell, until Qrow cleared his throat.

"Don't mean t' in'errupt the moment, but…" He lifted the cloth-covered case with the relic inside. Ironwood eyed it and Qrow briefly lifted the cloth so he could get a glimpse and his eyes widened from the shock of seeing it for the first time. "Is that...?" he asked, suddenly somewhat nervous.

"Yeah." Qrow nodded and Ironwood composed himself, thinking most of the others were still not privy to what it was.

Ironwood only looked at Winter, then. After a second, as if not knowing what to say or do, she saluted him, again, appearing uncharacteristically nervous despite her usual facade. He knew she had to be angry with him for keeping everything from her, but she was also under pressure, because of her disregard for his orders, for which he could not really blame her for and so he did not know what to say to her, either. He slowly nodded to her, then looked at Weiss and Ruby. The former almost had the same look as her sister, while the latter smiled, simply happy to see him.

"Hi, Sir!" Ruby smilingly greeted him and he could not help but have just the hint of a smile, despite himself.

"Ruby." he nodded in acknowledgement and then at Weiss. "Miss Schnee. Glad you're all safe." He told them and turned his attention to Oscar, who had been quiet the entire time.

"Hi. Uh, S-Sir." he said with some nervousness.

"And you…?" Ironwood raised a brow, curious what kind of a person the boy was. What he was capable of. What he knew and what exactly happened to Ozpin and how he was still, in a way, with them.

"Oscar...Pine." Oscar awkwardly extended his hand and Ironwood carefully shook it.

"James Ironwood. But I'm guessing you know that. And a lot more." he said.

"Well...it doesn't really work like that. I..."

"Not here." Ironwood help up a hand and shook his head once. "We need to-..."

"Weiss!" He was cut off by the shrill voice of Jacque Schnee, who was moving towards them like a dark cloud. Weiss took a deep breath and her face darkened as Ruby looked at her in worry. Winter had the same look.

"Jacque, we're in the middle of official-...!" he attempted to say, as he got near, though their business was only semi-official, while parts of it were beyond classified.

"I don't care _what_ you're doing! My daughter couldn't possibly be important to any of it. She is coming with me!" He stopped and turned to Weiss. "This instant!"

"I'm not." Weiss defiantly stated, without raising her voice.

"What was that!?" Jacque thought he misheard her, stepping closer.

"I said, I'm not going _anywhere_ with you." she told him, keeping herself from behaving like he was. Her father's face darkened as he slowly narrowed his eyes at her even more and spoke with a lower voice.

"This sudden bravery of yours is beginning to feel familiar. My _hand_ certainly remembers what happened the last time you didn't hold your tongue." he threatened her. "Perhaps yours friends, here, would like to see, as well. Or did you think I would be intimidated by barbaric huntsmen still in training?" he mockingly asked. Yang's face briefly turned to shock, before she narrowed her eyes, hearing and practically seeing and reliving exactly what he was talking about and not just the most recent one, either, as Weiss' thoughts and memories flashed in front of her. Winter was about to reply, but was beaten to it.

"How 'bout one _not_ in trainin'?" Qrow spoke and all three Schnees looked at him in surprise. "Not that any o' these kids couldn't kick you around with their hands tied, but they might not get as much of a thrill from it as I would." he told him.

"No!" Weiss stepped between them. "I won't _hide_ behind anyone. And I'm _not_ going anywhere. You can't make me." Weiss challenged her father and as his face was twitching from anger so were Yang's fists as she could feel his intent from his thoughts. She was ready to act, as he and Weiss stared each other down, but she relaxed, a second before Jacque abruptly turned to storm away. He stopped to briefly look back.

"We're not through." he told Weiss and moved on. She knew openly defying him was only the first step in taking her father down. She felt her hands tremble, but it was stopped as someone else's took hold of it and she looked at Ruby.

"You okay?" Ruby quietly asked with a worried face. And Weiss sighed.

"Hhh. This is just the start." she stated and Ruby's face slightly fell. "But, I'm okay." Weiss squeezed her hand as she said it. "I will be." she added, so she would not worry.

"I don't need to tell you, Miss Schnee, how volatile your father is. This won't be a pleasant homecoming. Even without...everything else that's happening." Ironwood said.

"It never is." Weiss muttered, not seeing the sad surprise on Ruby's face at her comment.

"You should know, he had several of our patrols search the grounds of your estate and the surrounding area, after you...disappeared. It did not take him long to figure out it was an escape _and_ who helped you with it." he added and that filled Weiss with worry.

"Klein...is he...?" Weiss feared the worst, which would have been losing him, as her father surely fired him and kicked him to the streets.

"He's in prison." Ironwood said, feeling sorry for the kind man and Weiss' face fell.

"What?" Winter exclaimed. "Father can't _imprison_ him. He doesn't have the right or the authority."

"We both know it's never a matter of rights…or even authority, when it comes to people like him." Ironwood told her.

"Money and knowin' the right people in the right places." Qrow muttered.

"I'm not naive." Winter looked pointedly at him with a glare. "What did they even charge him with?" she asked Ironwood.

"That...isn't important, right now." he deflected. In a way, he was admitting that even as the head of the military, with two seats on their kingdom's council, he did not have power over such matters, especially when there was corruption. "You and your sister can visit him, but we have more pressing matters to deal with."

"He's right." Qrow agreed. "We need t' prepare and we have no idea what for. But, we can be damn sure it'll be much worse than Beacon and Haven combined." The soldiers exchanged looks and Ironwood was not the only one who noticed it.

"We should take this inside." he told them and motioned for all of them to follow him.

Oscar briefly stopped at the start of the path, taking in the view, as memories of standing in that same spot, through different ages, flashed before him. In some, both the protective barriers and other additions and expansions, as well as the guards, did not, yet, exist.

"Wow..." he whispered, barely seeing his own breath or feeling the cold. _"It...used to be a lot smaller."_ he noted, as the others walked ahead.

 _"Advancements in technology often make renovation and reconstruction necessary. Overriding the old with the new inevitably involves such...changes."_ Ozpin said and Oscar could sense some mild dissatisfaction in his last word.

 _"You don't sound happy about it."_ he noted.

 _"I...simply preferred the original."_ Ozpin candidly replied.

"Feeling nostalgic, yet?" Qrow turned to look behind him, at Winter, who subtly raised a brow at his attempt at small-talk.

"Not really." Winter replied, after a short pause, genuinely not recalling her years at the institution with any real fondness, if she was being honest with herself, in light of her recent self-reflection and her motivation for even attending. It was just an escape. She noticed Qrow was giving her a somewhat concerned look and she realized she had been staring ahead of her, at nothing in particular, lost in those same thoughts and she looked away. Qrow faced forward, mentally shrugging.

"It almost looks like an old fort that was turned into a city hall or something." Jaune commented, after a few dozen paces, looking at the main structure.

"And it almost literally is!" Ghira exclaimed, recalling what he learned of its history. "Despite all my travels, I have never seen it in person. I..." he paused. "Was apprehensive about visiting the kingdom itself...even before the White Fang became a part of my life." he added, to clarify.

"I _was_ gonna say that probably would've made things a little awkward at customs." Qrow said with a small laughter in his voice.

"They profile Faunus more than others." Winter stated with a deadpan face and everyone stared. "Statistics." she added.

"Good thing I didn't stowaway." Sun thought out loud. "It was easy to get away with it, back in Vale and Mistral, but _this_ place..." he frowned at all the militarized airships and soldiers patrolling. Even without the heightened security, there was a considerable military presence, at all times.

"You would be imprisoned the moment they'd find you." Winter stated. "If the Tournament had been hosted by Atlas and assuming your habits had not changed, you would've spent the last semester in a prison cell." she told him.

"Uh, yeah. I...kinda got that." Sun gave a nervous scratch to his head, not daring to look at her, from fear that metal bars would just spring up around him should he meet her eyes.

"Been a while since I've seen the place." Qrow said, glancing around what was actually the courtyard of the academy. "There're definitely more guards around." he noted all the units around them.

"As you would expect, after Beacon." Ironwood said. "We needed an even larger presence. And still…"

"All the good it did, in Vale." Qrow finished his thought and Ironwood did not even glare at him for the comment, only lowered his head.

"I'm trying not to make the same mistake, here." Ironwood said.

Qrow looked around, again. "Not seeing any of yer robots." he noted the absence of any Paladins and Knights.

"It's one of the mistakes we're trying to avoid." Ironwood pointed out. "Every unit has been reprogrammed, but that still doesn't guarantee our control won't be breached, again." he admitted. "And I'm not taking any chances and risk the bulk of our forces being turned against us."

"It's not like ye'r low on men. And you always got more in the making." Qrow said with a frown, as they were nearly at the main entrance, seeing many of the students around, who were all conversing, some glancing distrustfully their way and they were almost indistinguishable from the soldiers and ranked officers. The only real difference being that they were unarmed and their uniforms were unarmored. Ironwood was fully aware the other kingdoms were highly critical of the militaristic life-style they believed Atlas academy was imposing on its students, going as far as to calling it indoctrinating.

"That…reminds me…" Ironwood stopped and turned, looking at Ghira. "The faculty here may also not be immediately welcoming or as trusting as you'd expect from a huntsmen Academy, I'm sorry to say." They'll be waiting for us, once we've…discussed other matters. Needless to say they're...anxious. Some of them are downright disturbed, to put it frankly." Ironwood told them, upfront.

"As expected." Ghira understood their concerns.

"Phh. If this got 'em all worked up, I can't wait t' see their faces when they find out who we left t' run Haven." Qrow said.

"I still have to brief them on _that_ particular news. Intelligence only reported it within the military." Ironwood noted.

"This should be good." Qrow said as they moved on. Ironwood mentally sighed, silently disagreeing with him on that, not feeling the least bit amused and the automated doors opened in front of him.

...

"Screw this place." Mercury muttered as he pushed himself away from leaning against a window, in a narrow hallway. He walked past and frowned at an utterly despondent Emerald, who was sitting with her back against the wall with an empty look.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hazel asked, standing against the opposite wall, in a clean, black shirt, with his arms folded.

"Getting outta here. It gave me the creeps, before. And it _just_ got worse." Mercury said.

"I wouldn't have guessed someone who killed his own fath'eh had such weak neh'ves" Watts spoke as he came walking up, with Tyrian zig-zagging behind him, mostly on all fours. Mercury flinched as Tyrian let out a laugh and he was not sure if he even understood him, anymore. If he did, he probably took his words as a compliment.

"Oh, yeah? Maybe I'll show you how I did it!" Mercury retorted and Watts was annoyingly unfazed by the threat.

"Where is Adam?" Hazel asked. "And what have you done with him?" he asked, with only the faintest of concern, but knowing full well what Watts dabbled in.

"Oh, as much as I would have delighted in working on him, Her Grace herself insisted on… _convincing_ him to our cause." Watts said and as if on cue, Adam's muffled cries echoed through the hall, coming from a closed chamber. It sounded as if he was being tortured. But, Hazel suspected that it was mental, rather than physical, as another cry came and Watts had a small smirk.

"And Tyrian…?" Hazel looked at what he was turned into, with some pity and disgust. "This was _your_ doing." He could tell that for certain.

"Well, technically it was based on the work of a… _colleague_ , shall we say." Watts said. "He didn't mind me taking what remained of his research from the rubbles of his laboratory. His brilliance was sadly ended. By the same children who continue to foil our mistress' plans, mind you." He hinted at the identity of the mad scientist. Hazel still had a look of disgust mixed with annoyance that the students from Beacon had a hand in something like that, as well.

...

Ruby excitedly smiled as she looked out the wide windows lining the corridor that provided a view of the CCT, which was strategically located on the grounds of the military's headquarters, behind even more layers of defense, but still accessible to the public, of course, as it stood in the middle of large plaza, close to the center. Weiss noticed Ruby's smile and she could briefly smile herself, despite every thought that was crossing her mind about their situation, Klein and her father. The long rows of windows would have constituted a structural weakness, as far as more military-minded people were concerned, but everyone could see they all had a space above them from where reinforced panels could slide down, over the windows, to better shield the interiors, in case of an attack.

"You coming here within a day might give us more time, but without knowing how fast the enemy can move there is no way of knowing if we're really ahead of them." Ironwood noted as they approached his office. "And the White Fang was definitely not an ally I was expecting to have in all this." He looked at Ghira. "Most of Remnant and Atlas, especially, is...admittedly blind to more than just the war we're fighting." He was also referring to the people's prejudice towards the Faunus.

"The kingdom with many of its men and women serving all around Remnant, able to see its different cultures, is also the one where people are the least trusting and the narrowest in their view of others." Ghira commented, critically.

"The irony is not lost on me." Ironwood admitted.

"Well, look who's wisened in his old age." Qrow joked. Ironwood did not even have the capacity to glare at him and wordlessly opened the door to usher them in. He stepped in, behind them, as the children wanted to follow and apologetically held up a halting hand, in front for them. "They all know." Was all that Qrow said and Ironwood raised a brow at them, then stared at Qrow in surprise and back at the children.

"You cannot be serious." Ironwood finally glared at him.

"Hey, don't get on _me_." Qrow shrugged. "Oz is the one who spilled." He nodded at Oscar and Ironwood gave the latter a strange frown, as he also shrugged. He looked at the teams. Sighing, he pushed his door more open with his other hand, gesturing for them to step inside with the hand he previously stopped them with.

…

In Vale, evening came, as Raven slowly wondered into the living room, from the hallway to find Taiyang was draping a blanket over the sofa and put a pillow at the end.

"What are you doing?" Raven timidly asked, not wanting to believe he was making a bed for her, after all she had done.

"You said you already spent half the day outside, before you worked up the nerve to come to me." Taiyang told her, then turned to her. "You're not gonna spend the night out there. Even if you _are_ used to sleeping on the ground or…" he turned back to adjust the pillow. "Whatever you have in that tribe."

Raven's eyes gleamed as they started to water, again. She was both angry and ashamed he was giving her such care she did not deserve.

…

Back in Atlas, inside the General's office, the latter had been listening to Qrow's retelling of what went down at Haven and what the original plan was that quickly changed as soon as his sister showed up.

"I never knew you were..." Ironwood trailed off, looking at Qrow.

"Raised by bandits? Phh. Yeah. Ain't exactly somethin' I throw in a conversation." the latter replied.

"And all this time your sister was hiding the Spring Maiden with your... _her_ tribe." Ironwood corrected himself. Yang looked away from them, briefly contemplating if she should tell them the truth and even as she glanced at Oscar and remembered how she told Ozpin not to keep anything from them, she thought it was no longer relevant. Important, maybe. For Qrow to know her sister is the Maiden and had been, the whole time. But, she was no longer a part of their mission. The vault was opened and they had the relic. And as far as everyone was concerned, the Spring Maiden was gone. No one was the wiser. And it changed nothing. The whole thought raced through Yang's mind, in a second and she remained silent.

"Yeah, well...what's done is done. She's gone now." Qrow was practically voicing Yang's thoughts, when it was her, who could actually read their minds. "Both of them. The girl died and my sister ran, heck if I know where." Qrow shrugged with some bitterness and a seeming lack of care. But, Yang could tell he was still far from putting himself past it and not just because it literally happened only yesterday. She could feel the sting of betrayal and disappointment in him. After all those years of keeping in touch, despite the life his sister was leading. She was keeping true to herself and even somewhat to their original goal of attending Beacon only to learn how to deal with professional huntsmen. And though both of them got far more than what they have bargained for, after Ozpin took notice of them and even after having a child, his sister still had not changed much from their days at Beacon. Again, Yang could actually see Qrow's memory as it flashed before her.

 _He was looking at her mother, who looked about her age and they were standing on the roof of the dorms at Beacon, in the pale moonlight._

 _"She's so annoyingly naive." Raven rolled her eyes as she was replying to something Qrow said._

 _"Eh, She's kinda cute." he said and Raven gave him half a glare._

 _"Just don't forget why we're here." she told him, sounding like she did not really care who her brother took interest in, as long as he played along._

 _"Hey, look who's talkin'! Blondie sounds like a regular bleedin'-heart and you're not exactly shuttin' 'im down, even when he's comin ont' ya. Heh, heh." he mocked her._

 _"Oh, shut up." Raven turned her back to him._

The pit it all left in his stomach was as strong as what he felt with Lionheart and Qrow's thoughts were, now, on him, again, as Yang came back from his memory. "And Leo..." he trailed off, exhaling deeply as his shoulder slumped and he shook his head. Ironwood did the same.

"I wish we could say he and Spring were the only casualties, but the faculty at Haven and the freelancers..." Ironwood balled a gloved fist that started shaking. "Damn it." he muttered, unable to hold his frustration back. And he held his still shaking hand to keep it from acting up even more, glancing around the room. "I'm sorry." he apologized for losing his composure and slowly unclenched his hand, relaxing.

"Your hand." Yang spoke and Ironwood looked at her. "It's metal, under that glove, right?" She was giving him and his gloved hand a curious and sympathetic look.

"Yes." Ironwood said, with a sigh, looking down at it and back up at her.

"Well, can't be any worse than mine, if this is _cutting-edge_ Atlas tech, like dad told me." Yang had a small smile as she raised her own prosthetic arm, making a fist. "Thanks, by the way." she added and Ironwood blinked in mild surprise at the sudden direction of their conversation. And he smiled.

"Your welcome." he told Yang. "I have to admit I was worried your father would reject the offer. He's probably become even more protective of you and your sister, since Beacon. I didn't think he'd want you going back out and into action."

"Heh. He doesn't." Yang said with a knowing a smile. "But, he also knows he can't keep me or...either of us from going." She looked at Ruby.

"I did kinda ran away, too." Ruby sheepishly said, looking at Weiss, who had an awkward smile. Ironwood raised a brow.

"So, it's like you said." Qrow told him. "We hightailed it here. But, fer all we know, Salem's lackeys could already be here, inside the Kingdom. No offense, but yer blockade won't keep 'em out."

"So how do you propose we secure the relic, here, along with the one in our possession, without raising suspicion?" Winter asked.

"Eh, it's not like yer soldiers need an explanation from you." Qrow said. "You could just tell 'em t' triple the guard and the patrols somewhere and they'll do it. Right? They don't even need t' know why."

"For the most part." Ironwood agreed. "I could tell my men we have credible intel about an imminent attack or an attempted infiltration at the Academy and the CCT. After what happened at Beacon and, now, Haven, I wouldn't even be lying to them." he laid it out. "But, they still won't know what is really at stake." he added.

"We didn't know either." Jaune spoke, arms folded and Ironwood recalled how bravely the students defended their school, despite the odds and without any knowledge of why they were even forced into that situation.

"We still have troops on reserve." Ironwood stated, looking back at Qrow. "Outside of that, I cannot divert any more man-power to these locations, without additional resources that have to be accounted for."

"And what if they come from the Schnee Dust Company?" Weiss stepped forward.

"I seriously doubt your father would be generous enough to pay for our war effort." Ironwood replied, dismissively.

"He won't be the one making that decision, then." Weiss stated and Ironwood raised a brow, not quite understanding her. " **I** will." She added and he began to understand what they were planning.

"You're seriously intending to openly make a move against your father? And to do what, exactly?" Ironwood was not taking her lightly, but he was not convinced she could succeed.

"Well, it doesn't have to be completely open." Weiss sneakily said. "He has already ruined our family's good name. So, no one will be surprised if a few of his business partners are suddenly exposed, along with him."

"Exposed?" Ironwood asked.

"We plan on finding proof of corruption or of any misconduct and violation of rights, with the workers and use it to remove him from his position." Winter said.

"And how exactly will you do all of that, in a matter of days, at most?" Ironwood asked and there was a short silence as both Weiss and Winter were still formulating that part of the plan.

"We'll think of something." Yang optimistically said.

"Even _if_ you take over your family's company, which would be a welcome change, mind you, there is still one other variable that can change _everything_. And we have no idea where _she_ is." Ironwood meaningfully said, looking at Qrow and Oscar.

"Winter." Qrow said and both he and Ironwood threw a quick glance at Winter, who slightly furrowed her brows at the use of her name, before understanding.

"So...anyone's got a sister who could be hiding a Maiden somewhere?" Sun asked and Qrow shot him a mild side-glare.

"Jaune's got _seven_. Ask him!" Nora suggested and Jaune glanced at her, then at the others, in alarm.

"Wow." Neptune stared.

"Dude...!" Sun exclaimed and Jaune sighed.

"Good grief..." Qrow whispered, somewhat sympathetically.

"Okay...can we just...get back to what we're gonna do about any of this?" Jaune groaningly said as he gestured with a hand.

"Oh, no. By all means, let's all discuss who has how many siblings, in depth." Winter said, her face as flat as her tone.

"Sarcasm actually works fer ya." Qrow admitted with mild surprise, raising a brow and had a small smirk, at the end, but Winter was not quite appreciative of the compliment. Ironwood raised a brow.

"I'm surprised you two aren't at each other throat." he said. "Maybe miracles happen, after all. And it's going to take another, to get through this without another city-wide attack and panic." he added and noticed the slightly smug look Qrow had, at the last part. "Even if _some_ _ **would**_ like to see the people of Atlas run for their lives." He pointedly looked at him.

"Just scare 'em a little." Qrow shrugged. "Make 'em drop a few champagne glasses. Get a little dirt on their fur-coats, as they trip over one another." Qrow fantasized. Ironwood slightly shook his head.

"As contemptible as their attitude is, letting them run in terror from the Grimm would be harsh." Ghira commented.

"You know, you sound a lot like Oz." Qrow told him, with a tired face.

"I was going to say the same." Ironwood had a small smile.

"Is he up fer talkin', yet?" Qrow asked Oscar, who listened for a second.

"Not, yet." he shook his head. "He needs a little more time."

"We'll talk more when he's ready." Ironwood said. "We're going to have to get all of you squared away. The dormitories at the academy might just have enough rooms...for the children, at least." he pointed out and looked at Ghira. "I could set up a camp for your men and they'll be allowed to keep their weapons. But, news of your...reform is yet to reach the rest of the academy and the public. The White Fang will still not be so welcome. At least, not yet." Ironwood plainly told him.

"I understand." Ghira acceptingly nodded.

"I can explain the news to our students at the opening ceremony for the semester, tomorrow. And we'll be talking with the faculty, soon. After they've heard what happened at Haven, they should be more open to working with you." Ironwood decided.

"That would be most appreciated. It will be an excellent opportunity to show the rest of Remnant how we can stand together, also. Even if news travels slowly." Ghira noted. Ironwood agreed with a nod.

"Winter already has her own quarters." Ironwood glanced at her. "She can show you and the students the unoccupied rooms. "As for you..." He looked at Qrow with a faint smile. "I'm sure we can find you a hovel or a bar with vacancy." he said and Qrow raised a brow, unimpressed with his weak dig at him.

"Really? That's the best ya got?" he asked with a smirk.

"It's already more than I have the strength for, right now. Take it or leave it." Ironwood told him, tiredly and Qrow's smile fell and he was suddenly serious.

"You okay, Jimmy?" he asked, sincerely and Ironwood blinked, briefly surprised by his tone.

"Better than I've been in a while, actually. Just tired. But, also…more alive. Maybe it's because all of you showed up and it means the threat I closed off the kingdom from is more real than ever, now. Being in danger certainly breathes life into a situation." Ironwood mused.

"Hey, whatever keeps you goin'." Qrow shrugged with a smile. "It's not any less bad for yer health than anythin' else that could get ya through the day." he commented, taking out his flask for emphasis. "I run on this..." he casually said. "You run on whatever you think attacks, next." He looked at Winter, who was expectantly glaring at him, waiting for what he will say, but Qrow was seemingly having difficulty coming up with anything. But, as Qrow turned back to Ironwood, Winter actually found herself reflecting on it.

Apart from her obligations for the military, she did not have anything that drove her or rather, nothing that actually made her live and certainly nothing that she needed, material or immaterial, which got her through a day. She had to admit that, for years, she had been avoiding having to think about her escape from her father and leaving her sister and mother behind, her lack of any meaningful relationships; that her sole reason to lead a military life was exactly so she could bury herself in work, her duties and to push for more responsibility to be placed on her, not because she was a perfectionist or because of her name, but so she would not have time for such soul-searching. She was running from herself, the truth of her life and into her responsibilities. Those came first. And nothing after. It was a job and whatever she wanted would have had to come second, except, she had no idea what that was, as she never stopped to think about, until now. She was in a new place or rather, one she shut herself off from, but her mind still registered some words that were not hers. Something about buried hatchets, sounding like it came from the General. And something about a truce for the kids, which sounded like it came from Qrow. Then she heard Ironwood, again, calling her name.

"Winter?" he asked and she could not even tell if it was the first time or not as she suddenly raised her eyes from the blank space she had been staring into and blinked a few times.

"I-I'm sorry, I was...never mind." she put those thought aside, again, but this time, they were not walled off, anymore. Ironwood and Qrow both raised a brow and exchanged looks. The latter just shrugged.

"Maybe the journey was a little long." Ironwood supposed. "You should all get some rest if you can." he suggested.

"We can continue this, later." he leaned on his desk and the children started leaving his office. "I have to make some changes to my speech." He picked up a paper that already had several paragraphs on it and placed it back down.

"Too bad Oz ain't feelin' like talkin'. He could write it for ya." Qrow said. "But, hey...we got another gifted speaker, right here." Qrow friendlily slapped Ghira in the arm with the back of his hand, who briefly turned to him. "Anyway, there's still one more thing. You got anywhere we can put this?" Qrow lifted the covered relic. "I don't wanna carry this around all day." Ironwood thought for a second.

"Follow me." he told them and led them away.

"Where are we going?" Ruby asked as Ironwood passed her and he stopped.

"Not...to the vault under the academy, right?" Yang asked and Ironwood raised a brow, thinking it was a guess and not that she actually heard him think of a different place.

"No, actually." he said a started walking. "Our enemy has no reason to make a move on the academy, until they have the person who can open the vault. I have built a storage chamber for...more sensitive items, where we can secure the relic. This way, we'll split the enemy's forces, at least. It'll make it easier for us to mount a defense. And our priority is this relic." He looked at it. "And unless the Winter Maiden appears, it is the only one we need to be concerned about."

"That's a load off." Qrow said. "If things even go that way, that is." he skeptically added.

"Then we'll have to make sure they do." Ironwood stated to end the meeting.

…

In Salem's palace, the thick, tall doors slowly opened to the waiting audience of five. Tyrian started to strafe from side to side, agitated and even his laughter sounded nervous. Watts curiously stepped forward and Hazel pushed himself off the wall. Emerald picked herself off the ground, showing some mild interest in what happened to Adam, considering how Cinder was changed. She wanted to see what he has become. Mercury stood with his arms folded, looking fed up with it all and frowned when a silhouette appeared in the doorway. They were surprised to see no drastic physical alterations on Adam, as he walked forth, except for glowing red marks and veins on his face that ran under his visor-like mask. It still covered his eyes, but now a red glow emanated from behind it. Tyrian cautiously inched closer. Adam motionlessly stood, without any sign that he was even looking at him or any of them. Salem came out, stopping in the doorway with a satisfied smile. Emerald looked past him and her, as they caught sight of what was also inside the dark chamber. Her eyes turned to the size of saucers and without her even willing them to, her legs took several steps forward. Her lips moved, as she was repeating a single word, but no sound came from her. Salem turned to follow her gaze, having expected her reaction and the others, too, stared in surprise, as there, on a crystalline table, surrounded by the eerie glow of candles and crystals, was Cinder, with two Seers floating protectively around her unconscious, broken body that was bruised almost beyond recognition.


	3. Chapter 3

Ch. 3 – Not Wasting Time

Emerald's steps quickened and she nearly broke into a run, before Salem stopped her from going in. She looked at her with desperation and fear.

"Hmm..." Watts sounded almost disappointed. "If I may ask, Ma'am, how did you manage to...recover her?" In answer, Salem looked behind her and the two Seers suddenly began moving around the room at incredible speed, reminding him of octopi in the water.

"Remah'kable...!" Watts' fascination with them shoved. "I had no idea they could be so mobi'yle!"

"Yay." Mercury dryly muttered, in disgust.

One of the Seers floated over to Watts, slowly rising to be nearly at face level, as he cautiously watched it and he peered into its orb to see a rush of images. The upper floors of Haven Academy's main building. A quick glimpse of the fight. A deep elevator shaft. A bridge with glowing patterns. A deep chasm. And finally, Cinder, frozen in ice, falling into the darkness, where she was snatched from.

"Hmm. Impeccable timing." Watts sounded impressed with the capabilities of the Seer, but slightly disappointed with its success. It made a few noises akin to someone clicking their tongue and moved away from his prodding gaze, almost as if its survival instincts were that of animal that wished not to be dissected for the interest of immoral science to satisfy the would-be experimenter's curiosity. "I'm guessing she was in an even worse condition when they found her." Watts said and some enjoyment over Cinder's state was evident in his voice, probably eager to subject her to the same kind of treatment he gave Tyrian.

"Arthur…" Salem's subtle caution in her tone brought him out of any fantasies, as she probably knew what was on his mind. "You are to go with the others to Atlas, as soon as you can. I trust you have everything you need to enter the Kingdom." Salem told him.

"Ceh'tainly." Watts nodded.

"Good. When you are there, you will use _her_ gift..." She looked at a surprised Emerald. "To access wherever the General believes he had carefully hidden the Relic from Haven." She stepped up to Emerald, who looked scared. "Your power over the minds of others have grown. You can single-handedly make Ironwood lead you to its location and open the way, if you know what to do." she told her. "Once we have the Relic of Knowledge, it can reveal the identity of the Winter Maiden." Watts raised a brow, but supposed Salem would elaborate when it became pertinent. "Then we can focus _all_ of our attention on Atlas Academy and the Relic of Creation."

 _"Creation."_ Watts wistfully repeated. "It has such an _enticing_ ring to it." he commented.

"Do try and resist taking it apart." Salem told him, with a cautioning smile and Watts smirked. Salem turned to Adam.

"You shall go with them, along with Tyrian." The latter giddily laughed. "In case there will be need for... _less subtlety_."

"As you wish." Adam replied and his voice was not that of a mindless drone that barely retained the ability to speak, either. He still existed, apparently. But, something was missing. Different.

"W-what about Cinder!?" Emerald almost begged.

"Her body and mind will have to recover." Salem replied. "I will aid the process, but she will have to heal most of it herself, using her aura. Her situation need not distract you." she told her reassuringly, then narrowed her eyes. " _Do not_ let it!" she added and Emerald weakly nodded.

"Arthur, before you leave I have something to give you that will make your journey easier." Salem addressed him and Watts' eyes gleamed from anticipation as he raised a brow.

…

The heavily secured storage facility for more sensitive equipment was located at the outskirts of the capital, behind several more security checkpoints, the numbers of which have also increased. Walking along its narrow corridors, staffed with guards, at every corner, one quickly wanted to wrap up whatever business they had and be back outside.

"I know you said you upped yer security, but even considerin' things, this is a little overboard" Qrow sized the place up, hands in his pockets, as they arrived at another checkpoint and Ironwood motioned for the guard to let them pass as he talked.

"With almost all of our personnel called back, the number of armed officers in and around the capital, is at an all-time high. Unlike at Beacon, however, the public is used to them. Their presence won't cause unrest or panic." he said, glancing at Oscar, or rather, at Ozpin, as if searching for his approval, after passing through.

"Sounds like ye'r keeping a lid on things, then." Qrow replied. "Gonna be honest, I was kinda expectin' you'd be a little more on the paranoid-side, after the mess at Beacon." Qrow said and Ironwood gave him a passive side-glance, showing no real offense. "Figured you'd start gettin' some crazy ideas." he added.

"Like what?" Ironwood wearily looked at him.

"He thought you would start pursuing the other relics yourself, to better protect the kingdom." Winter stated, knowing Qrow would have said it himself, regardless.

"That." Qrow gestured with a hand, shrugging and Ironwood was not particularly appreciative of the lack of faith in his mental stability.

"I'd never become _that_ desperate." he affirmed with a small glare, but his expression immediately softened. "However...seeing how Leo lost himself, I can...understand why you'd think that." he added.

"Yeah, it totally wasn't, 'cause ye're discreet and ya wouldn't park yer army over someone else's school." Qrow joked and though Ironwood found the apparent admission annoying, he could appreciate the honesty in it. They passed another gate and arrived at another elevator that appeared even more robust and went even deeper.

"What, did ya build another vault or somethin'?" Qrow exclaimed as the elevator's doors closed and they started another descent.

"Essentially." Ironwood said.

...

Outside the facility, Ghira and the students were idly waiting.

"Is it just the city or does the whole kingdom look like this?" Sun asked, getting depressed by all the greyness and cold concrete.

Weiss did not immediately reply, but saw that Ruby, too, was starting to feel the lack of figurative warmth, sooner than the lack of the literal one. Weiss remained quiet, not wanting to admit that even she considered her home largely devoid of any spirit, despite how developed it was. Then she thought of how wretched it had to be for Klein. Alone, with no one who would even look his way, let alone give him company and comfort. She quickly walked up to the nearest soldier. "Excuse me, do you know who could take us to the prison?" she asked.

"What did you do and which one?" The guard asked in amusement, as he could clearly see she was lost and Weiss was suddenly stumped as she did not even know precisely which facility was Klein being held in.

"Where do you think they would hold your butler?" Ruby quietly asked her.

"Hah. We're talking about a _butler_?" the guard snorted, sounding derisive. "Civilians are usually held in the penitentiary, far south of the headquarters. Unless, whoever put them away also pulled some strings to get them into a higher security facility, to the north. But those aren't the only places. Heck, for all you know, your guy could've been put somewhere way off west or east, to be as far away as they can be." he told Weiss, showing no care for how any of those possibilities could be affecting her and each was worse than the last, as was the expression on her face.

"Thanks." Yang muttered, with some dryness that the guard did not even notice.

"We can ask General Ironwood. He has to know." Blake suggested. "We should just wait for them."

"Yeah. Taking that thing to some fancy safe shouldn't take 'em that long." Sun agreed and Yang seemed to be listening to something.

"They're...not _that_ far." she muttered, quietly and Blake was the only one standing close enough to barely hear her. She gave Yang an inquiring look and the latter noticed.

"You can tell?" Blake whispered, stepping closer.

"I think so. I...think I can feel...something. The relic, maybe. But...it's like...it's deep. _Way_ deep. Underground. But, it's still here." she described the sensation her awareness was giving her. She could faintly hear Qrow, Ironwood, Winter, Oscar and even Ozpin.

"Sure hope this won't come back to bite us." Qrow said, out loud, down in the high-tech vault, as the locking mechanism on it was engaged and the relic was behind several layers of protection. _"There's no tellin' what Salem'll do, now that we're sittin' on_ _ **two**_ _relics."_ Yang heard him think.

"There'll be no reason for the enemy to attempt an attack on the academy. We have increased security, there, as well, but unless they have the means to enter the vault at the academy, this facility should be their only target. And no one, besides us, knows what's here. They'll have nothing to go on." Ironwood reassured him. _"There would be absolutely no point in attacking the academy, without the Winter Maiden. The students shouldn't be in danger."_ Ironwood's thoughts were not completely full of the same certainty he showed on the outside, though.

"From what we saw at Beacon and Haven, they may not care for what will be razed to the ground, as long as they'll have access to the vault itself." Winter said. "Even if only in preparation. If they can gain control of the area, they can look for the Maiden, afterwards, without opposition." she added. _"And next to everything, there is father. How can we possibly find anything that will be enough to convict him? Something he won't easily buy his way out of. He even had Klein imprisoned. We don't know how deep his influence goes with the courts. Weiss has started a war of her own she doesn't know how to win, yet."_ She sighed.

 _"They don't really sound sure all of this will even work."_ Oscar was thinking, remaining silent outwards.

 _"James is certainly doing what he believes will most likely keep the academy, the citizens and the students out of harm's way. And Salem knows better than to assume we would try and guard the Relic of Knowledge at Atlas Academy. It would be far too dangerous. And it would only play into her hands. It is why James knows it wouldn't be safe to obtain the remaining two. Even if he could. However, Miz Schnee's concerns are valid, as well. Should our defenses fail, at the academy, Salem's forces may hold its grounds, indefinitely, even if they will have no means to enter the vault. Beacon is still overrun by the Grimm and they will not relinquish it, as long as the relic remains there. The same fate must not befall Atlas."_ Ozpin said.

Yang was done listening, as the thoughts of the others receded, the way they did from the relic and Yang took note of that. After a few seconds of silence she was certain they finished.

"I think they're done." Yang told Blake.

"You can tell?" Blake asked.

"Yeah." Yang nodded. "They're coming back up." Yang figured.

"There's got to be a _lot_ on their minds." Blake guessed, as it explained how Yang could even tell what they were doing.

"Sure is." Yang replied.

"Hey...what's with the hush hush?" Sun asked Blake and Yang, the sullenness briefly disappearing from his voice and Blake had the strange feeling he was teasing them and their apparent secrecy.

"I just said maybe they're taking their time. They're probably talking a lot. But, they oughta be back soon." Yang told him and she knew she was correct, too.

…

In Salem's palace, the latter heard someone slowly approach her from behind.

"Your Grace…" Hazel addressed her in his softest voice and he knelt before her as she looked over her shoulder. "I have failed you." Salem turned to face him.

"You have." she acknowledged it. "However…your failure may have given us an even better opportunity." Hazel looked up at her, perplexed.

"I don't understand." he said. Salem slowly started to walk around him.

"The General has not earned his title for nothing. He knows bringing the Relic of Knowledge to Atlas Academy would only make it easier for us to take it by force." She stopped in front of a Seer. "Thus, he will safeguard the relic _away_ from the vault in Atlas." she said, caressing it and it reacted with a glow. "He expects his army will fight another, on two fronts. Your task, will be to ensure there will be…much more. Young Emerald's gift will be invaluable, in this. It will allow us to gain insight the General would only entrust to Ozpin and those closest to him. Go and tell Emerald I wish to give her...advice."

"Yes, Ma'am." Hazel gratefully, but still hesitantly obeyed, barely believing he was even still alive. He knew that on their way back from Mistral, as he was readying himself to stand in front of Salem and as he came before her, he felt as though he came closer to death than he ever did in any of his fights.

"And Hazel…" Salem's voice stopped him. "Do not fail me, again." she told him and gestured with a hand for him to move on. As he walked along the dark halls of the temple, he saw Tyrian and Adam, the still living physical embodiment of a punishment worse than death and knew something even worse could happen to him should he fail their Black Queen, again.

…

Sun spotted Ironwood and the rest emerge from the building and folded his arms.

"You should be a mind-reader or something!" he told Yang, over his shoulder. She and Blake stared, exchanging a quick, awkward side-glance that Sun missed.

"What now?" Ruby asked, looking at the General and her uncle.

"Now, it's time fer a good ol' faculty meetin'." Qrow said. "Except, a lot worse."

"You're exaggerating." Winter told him. "They would hardly be suited to teach anyone, if they were as closed-minded as you think."

"True." Ghira said. "In their case, the issue is not prejudice, but more a matter of how they fear the rest of the Kingdom may react to me and the White Fang."

"Exactly." Winter agreed.

"Oh, I didn't mean they'll have a problem with _you_." Qrow smirked. Ghira and Winter raised a brow, but turned when they heard Weiss.

"Wait!" Weiss exclaimed as she walked up to Ironwood. "We have to find Klein! I have to know he's okay!" she told him.

"Of course." Ironwood understood. "You have been delayed from it long enough. I will take you and your sister to the penitentiary he's held in."

"If I may, General…" Ghira started, the conversation reminding him of what he also needed to do. "I would like an opportunity to…talk to my people. Visit and see where they live." Ironwood gave it a few moments of thought.

"Very well. There's still time before the faculty is expecting us, anyway. And this will give me time to explain certain details and prepare them, before you meet." Ironwood seemed to prefer the delay. "As for your request, a shuttle can take you to the district where most of the laborers live. Though, at this time of day, many of them are still working. But, I feel I know what you really want to see." he said and Ghira lifted his head some. "The mines, am I right?" Ironwood suspected.

"Yes. That is right." Ghira admitted and Ilia's surprise turned to dread.

"I'll assign you a pilot. Their orders will be to take you wherever you may want to go." Ironwood said.

"Thank you, General." Ghira replied.

"I cannot promise you will not be upset by what you'll see. I know it sounds like an excuse, but I have no jurisdiction over the dust mines and…how they operate. I may have two seats on the Council, but it's not enough to change everything I'd want, not matter how far I can push." Ironwood warned him.

"It speaks much that you even try." Ghira understood, appreciatively.

"I'll go with you, dad." Blake said, stepping up to him.

"Me, too." Sun said.

"And us!" Neptune stepped forward. "You ditched us for months, dude! We're not letting you go, anywhere without us!" he told him, half serious and half joking. Yang looked at Blake, nodding to convey the same message to her and she smiled. Ironwood turned to Weiss.

"We'll take a different route." he told her and looked at Winter, as well. Both nodded. Weiss looked at Ruby.

"Uh…it's okay, if…you wanna go alone, or with your sister, I mean." she shrugged with a weak smile.

"I don't." Weiss returned it.

…

Emerald reached out to touch Cinder's face, but stopped, worrying she might be burned or worse. Her eyes jumped to the lone Seer that was there with her, thinking it would attack her. She wanted to know, for sure, Cinder would live.

"Emerald…!" she turned to see Mercury in the door. "We gotta go." he callously told her, not seeming to care for what she or Cinder were going through. Emerald threw him a small glare that vanished when she turned back to Cinder's unconscious form. She reluctantly stepped away from her and turned to leave.

…

It turned out Klein was being kept close by, in the nearest penitentiary that was as intimidating as any of the other reinforced, barbed-wired installations that were out in the tundra, guarded by automated defenses, as well as soldiers. The capital and the city-limits could be seen from the cell-windows facing in its direction, as if mocking those inside, telling them they will not soon see it from any closer, if ever.

"I was actually there when your father had him arrested." Ironwood was telling Weiss as they were entering the penitentiary with the two Schnees, Qrow, Ruby, Oscar, Jaune, Ren and Nora. The rest of team RWBY, Ghira and team SSSN were headed elsewhere. "He's a strange man." he commented, as he recalled his arrest.

[Flashback]

"I do hope it was worth it." A contained Jacque was telling a red-eyed Klein, whose hands were cuffed behind him, with an officer standing at his back. Ironwood was surprised when Klein spoke with a different accent, sounding nothing like his usual kind self.

"I regret nothin', ye hear!" he grumpily said and Jacque made a face at his behavior that he was rarely exposed to, even in all the years the man served his family.

"Get him out of my sight." he told the officer with a low voice.

[End of Flashback]

A prison-guard approached Klein's cell as the man sat on his simple bed with an empty meager food-tray next to him. Lunch had been served hours ago and dinner was soon to follow.

"You have a visitor." the guard told him and Klein lifted his gaze, with the faintest of hope and curiosity as to who it could be. Apart from the Matriarch of the Schnee family, he could not imagine anyone would care to see him, except perhaps Whitley, who he would expect to take some twisted pleasure from where he ended up, because of his loyalty to Weiss. Life returned to his eyes when he saw who it actually was.

"Klein...!" Weiss pressed against the reinforced glass panel that replaced the metal bars in more advanced facilities. The air was circulated by a ventilation system and there were holes in the glass so speech could be heard on both sides.

"Oh, my little snowflake!" Klein moved to stand in front of her and he raised his head to look at Winter, above her shoulder. "My dea'hz!"

"Klein, are you alright?" Winter softly asked.

"I am. _Now_ that I know you're both safe." he answered, caring more about them than himself.

"We're going to get you out of here!" Weiss quickly said, not even bothering to demand his release from the guard, as she otherwise would have, had she not been on edge.

"I'm sorry, but we're not authorized to release this prisoner to anyone." the guard said.

"I don't care." Weiss stated, narrowing her eyes, without looking at the guard, as her words were more to the person by whose influence they were keeping Klein there. She pointed a finger on the wall of glass, where a glyph appeared, turned black and started spinning. The glass began to crack as it was constricting it, much to the guards alarm and amazement.

"Weiss, stop!" Winter placed a firm hand on her shoulder and the glyph disappeared. "That is _not_ how you proceed." she told her and turned to the guard. "I demand that you release this man, right now!"

"I-I'm sorry, but I can't. We were ordered not to release him." the guard repeated.

"By _who_?" Winter pressed.

"T-the warden." the guard stammered, again.

"And _who_ told him?" Ironwood calmly asked, already knowing the answer. But, it was out of his jurisdiction to directly override the warden.

"Uh, i-it..." the guard looked at Winter and Weiss, not wanting to say it. "I-it was Mr. Schnee." And they already knew, of course.

"Release him. Now!" Winter repeated, losing her calm.

"But, I-...!" the guard weakly tried to stand his ground.

"I don't care!" Winter yelled at him, stepping dangerously in his personal space.

Ironwood stared in surprise, as he only ever saw Winter's temperament when she and Qrow had their altercation. All they have been through in Mistral had already changed her or she was merely frustrated with everything, especially after having learned of certain things. He could not decide which one was the case. Likely both, he thought. Some of the others were just as taken aback by her outburst as he was. She noticed Weiss' stare and tried to ignore it, awkwardly looking away, as the lone guard scurried to open the cell and the glass wall retracted into the ceiling. Weiss hugged Klein, who warmly smiled as he embraced her and Winter forgot about her aversion for public displays of affection as she hugged him. Ruby, Qrow and the rest smiled at their reunion.

"I hoped you would find each othe'h, but when I hea'hd the General was calling the troops back I worried both of you would remain alone." he said.

"We almost did." Winter said. "It was pure luck that our paths crossed in Mistral." she said and heard a snort from Qrow, then gave him a quick glare.

"Klein, we're..." Weiss soft expression turned hard, as she took a step back from him. "We're going to take my father down." Klein's eyes widened. "And we'll need your help."

"You'll always have it." Klein firmly said.

...

Ghira stood with Blake, Yang, team SSSN and Ilia at the entrance of the nearest dust mine, over a deep descent that seemed to have no bottom, at least, none that they could see. Only a dark chasm was visible that was dug out of the dry, cold ground, upon which, Atlesian Paladins, repurposed for digging and hauling, were walking around, with cargo vehicles and ships going around and above them. But, that was just the surface. Once they went down into the branching tunnels, they were disgusted by the sight of men, women, all Faunus, who were being worked to the bone, swinging pickaxes and loading rail-carts, while the words of the foreman whipped them, as he could not use an actual one.

When the first laborer saw them, she froze, nearly dropping the large broken off piece of dust she was lifting, as the man, behind her, turned his head and upon seeing them, stopped in mid-swing, lowering the pickaxe he was using. Though, much of the workers did not even have access to a television set and a lot of them could only read or rely on their brethren to pass on news to them, all of them slowly recognized the former leader of the organization that fought for them. A pair of actually middle-aged, but, from all the work, older-looking Faunus, both with antlers and dust-covered brown hair, tiredly stepped forth as they recognized the red-headed girl that stood at the front, gazing at them with tear-filled eyes.

"Little Ilia..." the woman whispered, taking tentative steps towards her and Ilia recognized them, too.

"By the Gods, how you have grown..." Her husband said, his voice soar, probably from a lack of water, but also from all the dust in the air.

"Ilia...?" asked a high-pitched voice and Ilia's heart sank, along with Ghira's and the rest's, as a small antlered boy, barely in his teens, resembling his two parents, came up from behind them, with a tin bucket full of smaller dust chunks. He dropped everything and ran over to her and Ilia knelt to hug him close.

"Toru…!" She remembered how she used to watch him, when his parents were often forced to work over-time. He was barely old enough to start learning to count, the last time she saw him.

"Are you fricking serious!?" They both looked up in alarm, as Yang angrily shouted at a nearby hired guard. "You work _children_ down here!?" Her eyes turned red and Blake put a hand on her shoulder, grabbing her arm with the other. Blake would have tried to calm her with words, as well, but she was livid, as well.

"This is despicable!" Ghira exclaimed.

"Oh, this is _rich_!" Sun exclaimed and they turned to him with a weird stare. "Weiss won't even need to dig up any dirt on her dad and all the folks he deals with. This thing, here, oughta be enough to put him straight in jail!" he indicated.

"I would agree..." started Ghira. "But, unfortunately, it will not be that simple. If it is this easy for anyone to come down here and see what is going on, then we can assume _many_ know. They just keep silent about it, including the _authorities_." He nearly growled the last word, disgusted with them, as he looked at all the worn faces.

"Not for long!" Blake exclaimed. "We're going to stop this!" she declared and all the Faunus stared, with the light of hope, once foreign to them, slowly growing brighter in their eyes.

"It's gonna take a while to get some names outta people, but as soon as we get 'em, that wicked witch and the Grimm'll be the least of _their_ problems." Sun said, taking _Jingu Bang_ and _Ruyi Bang_ off his belt and quickly put them together to form his staff, spun it and held it behind his back, at the ready. They all took a moment, before they turned to the guards, at the entrance of the section, who were nervously starting to back away.

...

The others, with Klein, now, with them, remerged from the penitentiary and stepped outside to feel the waning warmth of the sun that already began to set. An officer ran up to them and stopped in front of Ironwood. He saluted and spoke with urgency.

"General Sir, we have a situation at one of the mines! Reports say that a group of children started a revolt with the workers! They've already pushed out the guards!" he reported.

"Heh, they're not wastin' time." Qrow commented.

"Oh, dear..." Klein started. "It won't be long for the same news to reach your fath'eh." He looked at Weiss. "And he will not take it lightly. He will surely demand a response from the military." He turned to Ironwood.

"Well, it wouldn't be the first time." Ironwood knowingly said and Klein let out a sigh, fully aware how Jacque liked to use and abuse his connection to the military and its resources to quell even the idea of any uprising.

"Indeed." Klein agreed.

"They're going to need our help." Weiss said and Qrow laughed.

"Heheh. Who? Yer friends? Probably not. The military, on the other hand..." He trailed off with a small smirk at Ironwood, who gave him a weary glare, but he actually took him seriously, having witnessed the skills of the students.

"We need to go there and diffuse the situation, regardless." Winter stated.

...

"I don't care how many of them there are!" Jacque Schnee was yelling into his scroll. "I want them rounded up and put back to work! Get through to the military if you have to!" A pause came, along with a cautionary advice he did not like. "I _can_ and I _will_! Their weapons wouldn't even be working without the dust we're providing them and they will do what I pay them for!" His hand was shaking, turning white as his grip tightened and his anger flared once more. Whitley was standing with his back turned, facing a muted television news broadcast, with a small, amused smile, seemingly taking some enjoyment from his father's tantrum.

...

All the security around the mining-site has fled. Many were disarmed and forced to retreat. Outside the entrance to the mine, the large group of once weary workers gathered, revitalized by the liberating upheaval. Ghira was addressing the crowd that formed to follow their lead, not from any elevation, but down on the frozen ground, where he stood but a few steps away.

"Brothers and sisters, even though this fight has to be fought, I must ask you to return to the safety of your homes, for the time being and to be with your families!" He was not ordering them like the authorities would have and they did not take it as such, but worried whispering still broke out.

"Something's going to happen, isn't it?" A man asked, his voice showing fear from an impending danger they inexplicably felt would soon follow. Even if they were going to be freed from their almost literal shackles, they could tell it will not be without an upheaval and Ghira did not want them to panic.

"You need not fear. Every time people rise to take their rights, their freedom, it is never without danger. Many came with us, weapons in hand, to do even more than they already have, to bring about the change the Faunus need. What the _world_ needs. But, the day has been long and all of us will need our rest, so we can see this through to the end, together!" In truth, he wanted them well-rested to better resist being forced back into the lives he wanted them free from, but he also did not want them exposed to any threat Salem was surely already sending their way. He wanted them to fight their oppressors, not Grimm and whatever monstrosities their enigmatic foe would conjure up. He needed them to help topple the people both figuratively and literally high above them, who were no better than slave-drivers, not risk life and limb against an unknown enemy that would strike they knew not when and where.

"Maybe, we're gonna have to do all of that a little sooner." Sun spoke and Ghira turned to see several personnel carriers were flying towards them and began encircling them. As the workers huddled together, family members and friends hugging one another close, the students and Ilia all stood ready to fight them off as they were facing in different directions, forming a ring around them. For several long moments they followed the movement of the ships, waiting to see if they would land. The doors on their side opened and they could see soldiers in riot-gear aiming what looked like weapons with tear-gas and net launchers at them that they were completely willing to use to disperse or subdue them. Yang slowly clenched and unclenched both of her fists. Suddenly, the soldiers turned inside to listen to their comm-links and exchanged looks. Some of them sighed, some shrugged, while others appeared downright disappointed they were being ordered to stand down, as all those on the ground figured, when the ships stopped circling and their doors closed. Then they started to retreat towards the direction they came from.

"They're chickening out, already?" Sun asked.

"Maybe the General called them off." Neptune shrugged, holding his weapon in its rifle-form.

"It must have been him." Ghira agreed. "He understands we are not here to cause a fight with his military."

"Lucky for _them_..." Sun muttered, separated his staff into his two gun-chucks and holstered them, folding his arms with a dissatisfied frown of his own. He likely felt the urge to punch, at least, a few of them, as did Yang, who silently agreed, with a glance at him. Ghira was obviously against a fight, though, he could see some of the students were not and he could not blame them for wanting retribution for the Faunus there.

"We should probably go back to the Academy to get settled in, before it gets dark." Neptune suggested.

"Yes." Ghira turned to them. "I still need to address the faculty, whether General Ironwood talks to them first or not." he added and then made a somewhat uncomfortable face as he habitually reached into the inner-pocket in his coat. Blake raised her brows and blinked, prompting him to speak. "I...believe I left my glasses at home." he told her, sighing. "I probably won't have enough time to prepare a speech, anyway."

"You can just wing it." Yang told him, with a shrug, encouragingly. "Ozpin did." she added and then a thought occurred to her. "Or...maybe he had someone in his head, too." She went quiet and glanced at Blake, who merely shrugged.

"Don't leave..." Ilia looked down at the boy, who was quietly pleading her. She saddened, placing a hand on his shoulders. She no longer had to kneel for it, either.

"I have to. We're going to stop all of this." She looked at the parents. "I promise." She swore and they nodded in understanding. Suddenly, they were alert, again, as another group of ships showed up.

"T-those are our ships!" One of the workers said.

"They're the ones that take us to work and back." An older man noted. A smaller vessel quickly overtook all of them and sped towards them, then it slowed to land near them. The doors opened and a ramp slid down. Qrow casually strolled off, hands in his pockets, with Ruby next to him and Oscar close behind them, while Weiss and Winter remained on the ship with Klein.

"Can't leave ya kids alone for a minute, uh?" Qrow commented.

"You know us." Yang shrugged, almost humorlessly.

"Is the General not with you?" Ghira asked, noticing his absence.

"He called off the troops, here, b'fore goin' t' give the faculty a heads-up." Qrow explain and looked at all the people they gathered. "Ye're keepin' yerself busy." he said and Ghira glanced behind himself, following his eyes.

"It has to be done!" he replied, determinedly.

"Hey, no argument, here." Qrow shrugged, hands still in his pocket. "The ships're with the General's complements." He nodded at them. "He said t' just send the workers home. No matter what anyone says. The next shift is staying home, too!" He raised his voice for them to hear and they were cheers and sighs of relief. Ghira glanced behind him, on both sides, and nodded, appreciatively. He stayed for another minute to say a few more reassuring words to the people as the students started boarding the smaller ship, following Qrow, Ruby and Oscar back onto it.

"I could've sworn we would be joining you in a fight." Weiss knowingly stated as Yang and Blake came aboard.

"Seems there was no reason for you to worry, after all." Klein noted, hands behind his back.

"Klein…!" Weiss whispered, not wanting the others to know that.

"Who're you?" Yang slightly tilted her head at him.

"Klein Sieben." He bowed. "Butler to the Schnee family, at you'h service. And you must be Miss Yang Xiao Long. From all the stories I've heard of you."

"Really?" Yang folded her arms with a smile. "You're gonna have to tell _me_ some, too, then." She gave a small, sly look to Weiss, who knew exactly what kind of stories she was hoping to hear and she gave Yang half a glare.

"And you're Miss Blake Belladonna." Klein bowed, again and Blake smiled with a nod.

"I am. It's nice to meet you." she said.

"Weiss wouldn't stop talking about all of you." he noted and Weiss almost said something to deny it, but it was too late. Ruby smirked and quietly snickered at Weiss, again, after she already heard it from Klein. Weiss gave her a small glare, then averted her eyes and Klein chuckled.

"We're going to spend the night at the academy, it seems." Winter commented as the Sun nearly disappeared on the horizon. Ghira stepped aboard, as well and their shuttle started to slowly ascend.

"You're not going back to your place?" Weiss asked, as she knew her sister had a place to stay, whereas going back to her own meant returning to their home and neither one of them felt comfortable with that idea, given their familial situation.

"Absolutely not." Winter firmly said. "I'm not going to leave until this is over." Then continued more lightly. "And besides, the rooms at the academy are adequate." She said from experience.

"Students will already be occupying the dormitories, preparing for the semester." Ghira noted and team RWBY, in particular, exchanged looks as they recalled how they spent their first night at Beacon, before their entrance exam.

"Place'll be full of 'em." Qrow muttered with a small roll of his eyes as they flew on.

"You've been there a few times..." Oscar was recalling some of Ozpin's memories, as he looked up at him. "When you were still teaching...and for...other...things." he referred to whatever tasks Ozpin gave him, under the pretense of visiting as a member of the faculty from a combat school.

"Yeah." Qrow said, quietly. "Not exactly my kinda place." he made a face, then shrugged. "At least James has a decent bar." he added, more to Ozpin and Oscar almost had the exact expression Ozpin would have had, a subtle raise of a brow.

Yang turned to Ilia. "Blake told me you went to school here." Ilia glanced at Blake behind Yang, somewhat surprised and nervous that they talked about her.

"Y-yeah. I did." She lowered her gaze as she replied.

"I was just thinking they gotta be more open-minded..." Ilia looked up in alarm. "...about Faunus, I mean. At least, at the academy." Yang continued and Ilia relaxed, thinking she was referring to something else she thought many people also needed to be more open-minded about. "Weiss and I fought a team from there, at the Vytal Festival Tournament. And one of 'em was Faunus. After what Weiss told us about the place, we totally didn't think they'd even _have_ Faunus students."

"Faunus aren't excluded from attending the Academy." Winter stated, somewhat defensively.

"Yeah, but you _know_ how they're treated, anywhere else. And we just saw it! Most of them are down in a mine, all day! I mean...that _boy_ , back there, should've been in school and even _there_ they would make it hard for him!" Yang was raising her voice.

"Admittedly, the environment for them, in lower institutions, is generally not as welcoming as that of the Academy's." Winter agreed and it was especially the case in their Kingdom.

"Even Beacon had its bullies." Blake recalled.

"It's just..." Yang started. "The Faunus at the Academy have a place where almost nobody looks at them like they're not even people, but, then...at the same time, their folks are being worked to the bone, in a dark hole, somewhere and their little brothers and sister might be there, with them!" Yang angrily said.

"It is...surreal _._ " Winter tried to find an appropriate word, aside from how obviously awful it was.

"Many cannot imagine that for families of Faunus, both realities can exist, at the same time." Ghira commented.

"Many don't _care_." Qrow muttered. "Especially in this place."

"We're gonna _make_ them care." Yang menacingly stated and no one seemed to disagree with that intent. Their shuttle flew on, towards the Academy, with added speed.

…

Meanwhile, in front of the schoolboard, Ironwood was done prepping them and defending his decision.

"This is more than a little disconcerting, James." A woman, about the same age as Ironwood, with graying close-cropped hair, stood with her hands behind her straight back, as she gave her response. "Your personal impression of the man, aside, his mere presence, here, won't be widely approved, to put it mildly." she firmly said.

"Even if he is earnest about the new direction of the White Fang, recent events, particularly what happened in Vale, will make it difficult if not impossible for the people to trust what is being said, either by him or even _you_ , James." A man, Ironwood's senior and everyone else's, by the looks of him, but with a much kinder pair of eyes, clean shaven and with short, thick white hair, calmly told him. "You understand." he added, adjusting his round glasses.

"I know." Ironwood acknowledged, his eyes heavy and looked out the window to see the shuttle has arrived and started landing. Ironwood walked out of the room without another word.

"This should be one for the history books." The elder teacher spoke, looking out the window.

"One of yours, perhaps?" A third, younger colleague teasingly asked.

"It will cause an _outrage_." The woman spoke, in a somewhat reprimanding tone, to her younger colleague, for taking the situation lightly. Then they all looked out the window, at the new arrivals, as another momentous occasion was to happen.


	4. Chapter 4

Ch. 4 – The Good and the Ugly

Ironwood walked to meet the others halfway through the courtyard. He slowed and stopped, letting them come to him for the rest of the way.

"I'm going to overlook that you started a revolt." he said, looking at Ghira, Yang and the students.

"Heh, woah. Ye'r really out of it." Qrow lightly laughed. Ironwood was, indeed, too tired to be his usual no-nonsense and certainly no-revolt self.

"There are unoccupied rooms in the western dorm." Ironwood turned to Winter. "Can you show the students the way?" he asked and Winter looked surprised he would ask her to leave them. "It's alright. _Our_ debriefing can wait until tomorrow." he told her.

"Yes, Sir." Winter nodded.

"The rest of us will meet with the faculty." Ironwood told Qrow and Ghira.

"Oh, no..." Neptune sarcastically started. "We're gonna miss the yelling and/or the awkward silence." He was still not his usual, cheery, chatty, charming self.

"Yeah. Bummer." Yang said, in the same tone.

"Not really in a hurry to get some sleep, either, though." Neptune said, as none of them slept well or enough, last night and laying their head to rest only made them think what happened even more.

"That doesn't even sound weird, right now." Jaune mused, feeling the same way.

"So, uh...good luck, Sir?" Sun told Ghira, awkwardly stepping closer, unsure if that is what he needed. Ghira turned to him and his expression softened some, accepting the sentiment.

"Thank you." he replied. "Let us hope it will go, at least, half as well as in Menagerie."

"You mean the speech part, right? Not the fighting? I mean, you did great in both, so, you know, you'll come out swinging, either way. Heh." Ghira's eyes widened.

"Sun..." Blake shook her head at his attempts and pulled him away, with a smile, giving her father an encouraging nod, who gave her a reassuring one. Ironwood, Qrow and Ghira made their way towards the main building, while Winter and the students were left to cross the courtyard to the dormitories, catching the quickly disapproving gazes of Atlas' students, who looked more distrustful and unfriendly the longer they scrutinized them.

"We stick out like sore thumbs." Sun said.

"Some of us." Yang smirked, giving Sun, Sage and Scarlet a quick look-over, then, slightly turning her head, she gave Blake a longer one, who noticed her wondering eyes and averted her own, folding her arms, with a small blush. Sun gave a slight chuckle. "At least we don't have to put on extra layers and cramp our style." Yang said.

"I still miss my warmer outfit." Weiss noted.

"Snowpea!" Ruby exclaimed, remembering the name she gave it, back at Beacon and Weiss had a small smile.

"It's definitely colder than Vale and Mistral." Blake said. "But, they keep most of it out, at least."

"Nice of 'em to let the snow in _somewhere_." Yang said, as Sun started buttoning up his shirt.

"Kind of." he said, while Scarlet was putting on the coat he usually draped over his shoulder and Sage was zipping his up, as well. "Still, can't really imagine any of these _cadets_ havin' a snowball fight out here." he added, as most of the students were predictably far too disciplined in the militaristic life-style, already, to allow themselves such frivolities.

…

Ghira briefly paused, as he was walking with Ironwood and Qrow, remembering to also cover himself more, not only because of the weather, but for the company he was about to meet and he buttoned up his purple coat. The faculty was, now, waiting for them at the main entrance.

"Good of you to finally show." The same stern woman said and noticed Qrow. "Mr. Branwen, this is a surprise." She was obviously less than thrilled to see him. "I was informed you resigned." she said, disappointed.

"What can I say? I just can't stay away from yer _charming_ kingdom." Qrow gave half a shrug with his snide and the woman slightly narrowed her eyes, which then quickly moved to the imposing figure of Ghira and she appeared slightly taken aback by him and her glare lost its sharpness.

"Such _animosity_ is exactly what we came here to end." Ghira looked from Qrow to her.

"Maybe that's a strong word." Ironwood took a few steps, attempting to ease the tension and looked between them. "Even if it _is_ Qrow." He had a slight smirk and Qrow raised a brow, giving a brief internal chuckle.

"That's only because of his own _charm_." The woman said, almost leering at Qrow.

"Well, he _is_ an acquired taste." Ironwood agreed.

"Heh. Ya both need t' work on yer lines." Qrow said, taking out his flask. "Try _this_ guy." He nodded at Ghira, as he screwed the cap off, who looked at him. "He might surprise ya." Ghira looked from him to the staff.

"Well..." The elder teacher started. "James already prepared us to be _pleasantly_ surprised."

"I am not the man, who once started the White Fang, but neither am I one, now, who is not still sympathetic to what it always stood for, even while its leader had...more drastic means of fighting for the right of the Faunus. As teachers, I hope you can find it...less difficult to trust in our will. For the White Fang stands for equality. Something the huntsmen Academies have always valued and could be relied upon to keep. At least, within their walls. We simply want for that to exist _outside_ of them."

"We do not doubt _your_ sincerity." The woman replied, not any less sternly. "Or even that of the men we were told you have brought with you. What we take issue with is the acts of terrorism the White Fang has committed in recent years, not the least of which were the murder of influential businessmen and key figures of the economy, many of them not coincidentally members of the board for the Schnee Dust Company. Frankly speaking, the prosperity or even the fall of the Schnee business empire would not concern us. However, the means by which its demise may very well be brought about, with the rest of our kingdom's infrastructure following suit and its people meeting similar fates at the hands of extremists and those giving them direction, is something neither the authorities, nor our Academy will idly stand for. The moral bankruptcy and corruption of the very people we are duty-bound to protect, aside." she said.

"I appreciate your honesty about your kingdom's people and I would ask you to consider mine." Ghira started. "Sienna Khan is not the ruthless reactionary most of the world believe her to be. While I cannot and will not deny her acts of violence, in the past, you and the rest of the world have to know that the same way she changed the direction of the White Fang, after I stepped down, Sienna was also unaware of elements within the organization that were acting apart from and against her." They raised a brow, appearing both intrigued and skeptical about how he would defend her. "Neither the attack on Beacon nor the one on Haven was her decision, but the ambitions of a spiteful youth not wise enough to see or care his actions endangered humans and Faunus alike." Ghira explained.

"I assume you're talking about the one named Adam Taurus." The younger teacher recalled the news.

"Yes. Even before he..." Ghira glanced at Qrow and Ironwood, remembering not to say Adam had allied himself with the ones truly responsible for the attacks that were even more atrocious than what the White Fang ever dared to commit. "Became mad enough to attack the Academies, he was already influencing others to take even stronger measures in the name of the White Fang." He looked at the ground. "One of the people his fanaticism nearly poisoned was my own daughter, who, along with her friends, were there to defend both Academies. Just as we are here, now, to defend Atlas, not only the Academy, but the kingdom itself, despite what many of its people think of the White Fang and the Faunus. That is the purpose of the men and women who are with us."

"We should continue this inside." Ironwood suggested, again, noticing some of the students were inching closer to listen as they lingered near them and he headed for the entrance. Ghira stepped closer to the teachers.

"I assume the General already told you, I would like an opportunity to address the students, here, as well as the people of the Kingdom, to tell them the same. And..." He hesitated some. "There is also one more... _news_ that has yet to make it to the public." He looked at Ironwood, who had his head turned to him and he gave a slow nod, before he entered the large, automated doors. "It is best if you hear it from us, first." Ghira added and the staff could see he was reticent.

"Seeing how you chose to mention it last, I assume we will not be pleased to hear it." The woman said.

"More like, ye're gonna lose it." Qrow told them, predictably making their expectations even worse.

...

In a dark void, Raven watched Vernal scream as her life was ripped from her by the twisted hand of a monster that, upon a second look, was her own. She blinked and it was no longer the glossy, almost liquid-like black limb of a Grimm, but her own hand. Her red gauntlet was stained with her protégé's blood and hearing cries of agony from behind her, Raven turned to see a burning village. In the flames she saw charred corpses. With horror, she recognized her brother. Taiyang. Her daughter. Among the countless others. And with another blink they were gone. She looked back to find her hand was free and saw Qrow, Taiyang and Yang walking away from her, fading into the darkness, out of which a figure formed and rose above the ground. It was completely black, but it had a feminine figure and unusual knots and twists in what was probably her hair. Its eyes glowed red, like that of Grimm. It was somehow familiar. And Raven knew exactly who it was.

With a gasp she sat up, on the living room's sofa, covered in sweat. She placed her hand on her forehead and looked around the dark room, seeing Zwei asleep in his little basket. His ear twitched, probably from the sound she made, but he did not wake. She lied back down and looked at the ceiling.

…

Many of the students and the non-automated, flesh and blood maintenance staff, some of who had been working there for many years, recognized Winter and started whispering as she lead the lightly dressed group through, also recognizing Weiss and even Yang, likely from the coverage of the Vytal Festival Tournament, along with the others.

"Everything's so tidy." Ruby commented on the immaculate halls, as they passed through.

" _Too_ tidy." Yang muttered, sounding almost nauseated by the cleanliness.

"I can see myself in the floor. Lookin' good." Sun stated, almost like a regular status report, not even in the mood to raise his voice, as the spotlessness was almost depressing.

"It's...almost like being home." Weiss said and looked at Winter, who did not comment on the similarity she also saw, when she was a student. "But, it feels different." Weiss added, looking ahead.

"A lot more people, probably." Blake said, conscious of it.

"Not as crowded as Kuo Kuana." Sun lightly elbowed her, as Blake was actually used to crowds.

"What?" Ruby tilted her head.

"My home." Blake smiled.

"It's the largest city and the unofficial capital of Menagerie." Weiss said. Ruby, Blake, and Yang were slightly surprised she knew, or rather, cared to know, given how she used to feel about the Faunus.

"What? It's just geography. And politics." Weiss stated, as she was simply remembering her studies, from before the Academy.

"Nerd." Yang snickered, Ruby grinned and Blake smiled. Weiss sighed, suddenly paused in her steps, staring ahead of herself, then glanced at them, before moving on, without saying anything and she had an almost imperceptible smile.

"What's wrong?" Ruby leaned slightly in front of her, as they walked, noticing it.

"It...just felt like we were...at Beacon, for a second." Weiss said and Ruby blinked at her with her eyes briefly widening, before she also had the same smile.

"Yeah." She agreed and Blake and Yang had the same look, as a brief, more comfortable silence fell, lasting for a couple of seconds as they moved along the too bright and too tight corridor.

"I can see up my skirt!" Nora exclaimed and awkwardly walked along, tugging at it to hold it down.

"Nobody look down!" Neptune calmly asked, being a gentleman.

"Eyes up, boys!" Yang said, then took a cheeky glance behind her and Nora jumped back.

"Hey!" She pulled her skirt closer and Yang smirked with a chuckle, but suddenly stopped to stare ahead, as she saw some familiar faces, who stood out from the others, with the way they were dressed.

"Calm down, Katt! We still got one rehearsal." One stylishly dressed, dark-skinned, tall and large young man, with a black baller hat, black shirt, brown vest and black dress pants, was telling a female fellow student, who was anxiously strafing in front of him, rolling from side to side on roller-skates, with her pink cat-like tail whipping about.

"K's right, Neon. Chill!" Flint Coal, a face they all recognized from the Vytal Festival, told their teammate. Yang had a mischievous smirk and picked her pace up, walking ahead of the others.

"Just keep cool, like the rain!" K was smoothly telling Neon.

"We don't even _have_ rain, here!" Neon was wildly gesturing, as Flint noticed Yang and surprise flashed across his face, before an unsuspecting Neon jumped in the air, with a short shriek, as she felt an unusually firm hand squeeze her bottom. Everyone stared at Yang's move as Neon landed and immediately whipped around with a growl, fist raised, ready to punch whoever groped her. Her face fell and her mouth hung open as the same girl who defeated them in the tournament was standing with a hand on her hip and a small smile, daringly looking at her to take a swing.

"Hey." Yang said and it was then they noticed the hand on her hip was actually robotic and they both remembered Yang lying unconsciously on the cold ground, during the attack at Beacon, with an arm missing. Neon's mouth moved as she stared at it and pieced together that it was the same hand she grabbed her with and she looked up and down, between Yang's arm and her coy expression.

"H...hey..." Neon stammered, her mind still trying to catch up with the fact she grabbed her butt, that she did it with a prosthetic, because she lost an arm in the battle and that she was actually standing there, a long way from Beacon, in their own Academy.

"Girl, where'd you come from?" The one they simply called K, asked. "Ain't you the one who beat our team in the doubles round? And broke that guy's leg?"

"Yeah. And no." Yang folded her arms and they raised a brow at the negative. "I did break it. But, they were responsible for the attack. So he deserved it, anyway. And they just tried to pull the same thing at Haven, but we stopped them." Yang glanced at the others behind her.

"Yeah. We heard about it a few hours ago." Flint nodded. "You get around faster than the news." He said, amazed they have already made the trip and looked past her to see some familiar faces, one of them being Weiss. "Hey, Schnee!" He gave half a nod, holding his head high. "Ya know, I was pickin' soot from mah ears for a week, after yoh stunt." He smiled.

"Sorry, _not_ sorry." Weiss playfully replied, with a smirk of her own, which made Flint's wider, until his eyes met Winter's.

"Uh..." Flint fell silent. Yang followed his gaze, then turned back to him.

"Don't worry. She only looks mean." Yang nodded over her shoulder at Winter, who gave her a small glare. She looked at Neon, whose eyes stopped on someone and turned to see it was Blake. Neon wordlessly pointed at her cat-ears and made a gesture above her own head, surprised she was Faunus. Blake nodded with a somewhat embarrassed smile that she used to hide it. Neon looked back at Yang, who raised a brow, silently prompting her to say something.

"Um..." Neon nervously brushed a few loose strands of her hair back, looking at her feet.

"Woah! Katt's all speechless, yo! Call the news!" K said and Neon turned around to him, balancing on her roller-blades, almost like she was standing on her toes.

"Shut up!" she hushed him and turned her head back at Yang, before the rest of her completely faced her and she was about to say something.

"So, what brings you to our neighborhood?" Flint asked and had to lean back, in surprise, from Neon pressing her face in his.

"I was going to ask that!" she huffed and turned to Yang, again, picking at her strands, again. "So, what're you guys doing, here?" Yang glanced at the others, before giving an answer.

"We're pretty sure Atlas is gonna be attacked next." Yang said and all merriment vanished.

"But, the public cannot know." Weiss stepped forward, firmly telling them and Yang turned to look at her and then at Blake.

"People would start to panic." The latter said.

"Like they did in Mistral." Neptune said, stepping forward.

"And that would bring the Grimm, again." Jaune added and Yang turned back to them, after her friends briefly explained why it needed to be kept under wraps.

"If they'll be no Grimm, then what're they gonna attack _with_?" Flint asked.

"They're not gonna let 'em hijack all them mechs, again, right?" K asked. "Nobody even trusts tech, anymore." he added.

"Yeah and from what we heard on the leaks, the White Fang's on _our_ side, now?" Flint asked, incredulously.

"Yes. They are." Blake said. "And you _can_ trust them." she added. "They came with us to help defend the Academy and the Kingdom, if they have to."

" _If?_ You mean, if they'll be anotha fight, at all? You dunno foh sure?" K asked.

"We don't know what with..." Yang said. "But, they're coming. That's for sure."

"And it is best if as few people are made aware of it as possible." Winter said. "Not necessarily including the faculty, but that may already be unavoidable. Security is already heightened, as it was the General's first order after he returned from Vale."

"All everyone's talked 'bout foh the last semeste'h, was when are we gonna get attacked." K said.

"Folks've been expectin' a fight, evah since." Flint noted.

"Yeah. It's been a little scary." Neon said and started to rattle, faster with every sentence. "But, we're trying not to worry, so we're practicing with our band, all the time, but, then they got all these soldiers and then they closed the borders and now Haven was attacked and the opening ceremony is tomorrow, I'm freaking out and K's talking about rain and now you're here and YOU GRABBED MY BUTT!" She flew off her handle as Yang and the others stared. Neon let out a deep breath, but it did little to calm her and drain all the color that went into her cheeks. "Sorry."

"Someone needs a lil' catnip, instead o' the powah juice." Flint said and leaned back with K as Neon turned around to yell at them.

"Jerks! I missed class because of that!" she told them.

"Hey, we told you not to do it _befoh_ class." K defensively held up his hands. Neon leered at him, turned back to Yang and became slightly more flustered, again.

"So is _catnip_ just a nickname or...?" Neptune asked, worried they might have been referring to drugs.

"No. It's...actually catnip." Neon looked at the ground in embarrassment as most stared.

"If you're done..." Winter started, overlooking the fact that students were practically abusing a certain substance on campus, only because it did not qualify as a drug. "Perhaps you can show them the empty rooms in this wing." she told them. "I need to get back to the General and see how the faculty are handling this situation." she said and turned to Weiss, without even waiting for their response. "You need to rest." she spoke, a little more softly. "We don't know when we'll have time, again." Weiss nodded, somewhat reluctantly, not looking her in the eyes, but on the ground, which Winter noticed. "There's nothing more we can do for the day." she told her and even placed a hand on her shoulder and Weiss met her gaze, then sighed.

"Fine." she said.

"Good." Winter said and turned to Klein. "Klein, will you stay with them?" she asked.

"You needn't even ask." Klein told her with a small, reassuring smile, which Winter nearly returned in full, then she more briskly walked back the way they came from, taking a longer glance at Oscar, as she passed him last, likely wondering what Ozpin was thinking.

"She totally ditched us." Sun pointed out.

"Yup." Yang noted and turned to Neon. "Wanna show us the rooms?" she asked.

"Y-yeah, sure." Neon smiled, still a little awkwardly. "Um..." she oriented herself, checking where they were. "Our room is that way, too!" she said, over her shoulder, as she started rolling along.

"Good." Yang nodded with a smile.

"So, how have you been holding up?" Weiss asked Flint, picking up the pace.

"Like ah said, everyone just tryin' to bury 'emselves in whatevah hobby they got. Summer job between the semesters, even summer school. But, that's goin' on anyway. Only difference is, we bump into even moh' soldiers than normal and it doesn't help anyone forget we can be up to our necks in Grimm. And aftah the military got owned in Vale, anyone with any sense doesn't think we're really safe, anymore and that ain't a lot people." Flint said.

"What he means by that..." K started. "Is that a lot of folks are still too busy sippin' champagne at their parties to care."

"Don't I know it." Weiss muttered.

"What 'bout chyu?" Flint looked at her. "Cain't even call you the _heiress_ , anymore, right?" Flint asked.

"For now." Weiss said, her face darkening and Flint raised a brow. "My father made that decision _without_ me. And I'm going to make sure it was the last time he ever did that." she said, coldness almost literally emanating from her.

"Ah knew it!" Flint exclaimed and Weiss' expression softened as she raised a brow. "Figured that whole PR 'bout _the battle being too much for ya_ was fishy. You're made of tougher stuff than that, Schnee." he told her, flashing a smirk and Weiss looked at the ground with a small smile.

"The empty rooms are..." Neon was saying. "Right along, here!" She made a turn and they were in a long corridor that had a staircase at the end and a small lounge area, in the middle, with a few students. Leading up to that were doors on both sides, some open, as people conversed in the doorways and were crossing from one to the other. No music was playing from any of them, nor were there any added decorations, in any of them, from what they could see as they passed.

"This place could use some color." Yang commented.

"Tell me 'bout it!" Flint agreed. The chatter stopped and the students stepped aside to let the group through, giving them odd looks and not only for the way they were dressed. Whispering broke out, again, the same as before, as they were being recognized.

"Brought in more _strays_ , with you, this semester, Katt?" One blond long-haired and fair-skinned female student, whose upbringing and privilege oozed from her, in both appearance and the obnoxious way she talked, called after her, wrinkling her nose, to show her disgust, along with her group of friends. Neon's mood immediately dampened, as did the air. She remained silent, fixing her with a glare, as did her team. The girl kept obnoxiously laughing, but her smile froze and vanished when she saw Ilia and anger practically exploded from here. "You!" She nearly spat and Ilia recognized her, too, then. She stopped as Blake and the others glanced between them in surprise.

"Well, look who it is?" Ilia mockingly said with disgust on her face, stepping closer. "I can see the dentist did a good job with your teeth, _Priscilla_. You wanna get another _appointment_? Then just keep talking crap about my friends. And I'll _beat it_ out of you, again." she threatened, her anger returning and the girl seemed to be suddenly seething with rage, but did not say anything.

"Ilia..." Blake pleadingly said her name, hoping to stop her. Neon rolled back to them and got in front of Ilia.

"Hey, don't mind them." she quietly told her. "Everything's okay."

"Like hell it is!" Ilia raised her voice. "You can't just let 'em get away with it!"

"We can." Blake stepped behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "If we don't want to be like them." she told her and Ilia was still having trouble accepting that view. She shook off her hand.

"Tch. Fine. Let's just go." Ilia muttered and stormed ahead, obviously not ready to let it go. Blake remembered what Ilia told her about her time in Atlas and how it ended. She knew this girl had to be one of people who laughed, right in front Ilia, when she heard the news about the fatal explosion in the dust mines that took the life of her parents.

"They should've thrown you in the mines, where you belong." The bully named Priscilla said, purposefully loud enough for them to hear as they passed and Yang's face darkened. She stopped and turned, taking a few slow steps towards the girl.

"Hey, maybe you'll be more open-minded, if I crack your pretty head open." Yang threatened her with a calmness that instantly sent a chill down her and her friends. The air of superiority they carried themselves with evaporated from around them. Recalling the tournament and whispering to each other about it, they recognized Yang from her fight against Mercury and actually believed she would follow up on her threat, considering what she did. Neon, Blake and the others worriedly looked at her.

"They're not worth the trouble." Weiss muttered. "But..." She flicked her hand forward and a white glyph appeared below the group, who stumbled as they stood on it. "It might teach them a lesson".

"Gonna see if you can stick to the ceiling." Yang seemingly calmly cracked her knuckle. "Glyph or no glyph." She implied they were going to be imbedded in it, with or without the aid of Weiss' glyphs.

"Yang..." Blake pleadingly whispered, surprised by her behavior, even considering how she used to be. The way Yang was acting, now, was different. Colder. Not even impulsive, but past that. Her old self would have already swung a fist, or they would have had to hold her back, at least. But, she was actually being premeditative to the point it was starting to scare Blake.

"Weiss..." The latter turned at the high-pitched, but quiet cry, to see the same worry on Ruby's face and the anger, along with the ill-intent, vanished from Weiss' face. She realized, with shame, how she was acting and averted her gaze, unable to meet Ruby's. Yang backed off, taking a few steps back, before she turned away from them.

"Come on..." Sun urged them along, walking forward, with a glare to the bullies, wanting to be done with them, before he himself was done resisting the urge to break out his weapons, again. He nodded at Flint, who returned it, then gave one to Neon for her to continue on. Weiss started moving along, with the others, chancing a glance at Ruby, who was still giving her the same look and all Weiss could do was not to hold her gaze. Yang felt a slight pull on her prosthetic and she looked down to see Blake tentatively holding it. At that moment, she was slightly disappointed she could not even feel Blake's hand brushing against hers. She looked up at Blake, with a docile, tired stare and her hand carefully tightened around hers, holding it, as she let her guide her away from all the negativity.

Oscar had a disapproving and disappointed look about him, as he looked at the group of clearly prejudiced students and he could tell Ozpin was feeling the same. He could only imagine how those students would have acted, if Ozpin had been there, in the flesh.

"Ilia..." Blake tried to get a word with her, as they caught up with her near the end of the corridor, where she was standing with her back to them.

"You don't understand, Blake!" Ilia did not face her, as she shook her head.

"But, I _do_." Blake softly said, stepping in front of her with an understanding that made Ilia's glare disappear. "You told me. Remember?" Ilia did. She looked at the ground and exhaled, closing her eyes as she tried to calm herself, feeling ashamed she was slipping back into her old, angry self.

"The last four rooms, at the end, are the empty ones." Flint told them and they both looked up. "I'd tell you t' make yourselves at home, but..." he trailed off, frowning in the direction they came from.

"Don't sweat it." Sun said. "Jerks like that are a dime a dozen, even if you're not Faunus. And we already kinda figured every Academy has them."

"We just didn't think we'd meet them this soon." Blake cast her eyes to the ground, her hand still on Ilia's shoulder, before she gave her and Neon a sympathetic look, both of who averted their eyes.

"I find people of thei'h so'ht have been fa'h too fortyunate, they never had to endu'eh the very ha'hdship they seem to enjoy putting othe'hs through. They nev'eh had to feel as though they were outc'ah'sts." Klein spoke and all turned to him.

"Hh. Yeah." Flint replied. "Who'd make funna' kids whose folk can literally buy the ground from under yor family?" He had a look of disgust. "But, everyone's scared to even look at 'em the wrong way. And the ones who make friends with 'em...are the same as them." He frowned. Klein put his hands behind his back.

"And yet, thei'h kind of friendship raeh'ly has mo'h behind it than the privileges they have in common." He looked at Blake and Neon. "And thei'h habit of looking down on others." he added with them in mind. His expression softened and he had a small smile. "They do not have what all of _you_ do." he raised his voice, becoming more animated with every sentence. "Care and trust that grew in battle and in and out of the classroom! _That_ is what makes friendships _real_ and it will always trump anything any bully or enemy can ev'eh bring against you!" he finished and many stares turned into warm smiles.

 _"I couldn't agree more."_ Ozpin's voice echoed for Oscar.

"Thank you, Klein." Weiss said, then looked at the ground, in embarrassment at her earlier behavior, as it was how a bully would have acted and she saw part of her old self in them, before Beacon.

"Heh, yeah. 'Preciate that." K nodded with a wide smile, as Flint tipped his fedora at him.

"You should try'tah catch some sleep, then. Tomorrow might be an even big'eh day than we figured it'd be." Flint said, worrying about more than just a gig at the ceremony. "Gonna kick off mo'h than the semeste'h." His face briefly darkened, as they were, now, expecting another fight.

"But, first, our boots!" Ruby exclaimed with a smile that made Flint's return.

"Ah, the thought of a prope'h bed is ce'htainly enticing." Klein was massaging his lower back, with a suddenly drowsy accent and his eyes turned a pale-blue. "D'you mind if I retire early for the evening?" he asked Weiss.

"Of course not." Weiss softly said. "Go ahead and take one of the rooms. I guess you'll be sharing it with...Ruby and Yang's uncle..." She looked at them, then at Blake. "Blake's father and...my sister." Weiss realized and her eyes briefly widened as she considered how Winter might feel about that. "Oh."

"You know, sharing a room with a girl isn't as awkward as people think." Jaune commented, folding his arms. "I only got my hair braided _once_." He shrugged. "And it wasn't even by the girls." Some slowly turned to look at Ren, who also did not appear the least bit embarrassed. "I didn't really know what look I was going for." Jaune added.

"You certainly did not." Ren agreed.

"Nothin' weird 'bout crashin' with a girl." Flint said. "You can get used to the snorin', too." He smirked at Neon, who blew her tongue at him, more cheery.

"Not really feeling like hitting the bed, yet." Sun said. "You guys wanna check out the rest o' the place?" he asked his team, who exchanged looks.

"Sounds better than trying to sleep _this_ early. Or at all." Neptune commented with half a shrug.

"Should we do the same?" Ren asked Jaune and as if on cue a loud growl came from Nora's stomach.

"Well, that settles that." Jaune said. "Let's find something to eat. Oscar? You wanna come?" he asked.

"I...could use a bite. Sure." Oscar nodded.

"What about you?" Jaune turned friendlily to Ilia, who was surprised by it.

"Uh...I…" She glanced at Blake, somewhat nervously, who gave her an encouraging nod, conveying it was up to her and that she was amongst friends. "S-sure." she nodded. Ruby turned to Weiss.

"Coffee?" She tilted her head, with an uncertain smile.

"Not right now." Weiss declined, clearly not in the mood for it and she saw Ruby's attempted smile disappear, as she tried and failed to cheer her up. Weiss felt guilty turning her down, as Ruby was looking at her feet and was awkwardly shifting her weight. "I'm sorry." Weiss said and walked off, towards one of the empty rooms.

"Let's just get a room." Yang muttered, sounding slightly fed up, not looking at anything or anyone and started towards the rooms, as Blake gave her a worried look from behind her.

"Um, hey...!" Neon rolled in front of them. "So, like, our room is just at the end of that other hallway. Neon pointed to the one that connected to theirs, from the way they came. "If...you need anything." she told her, putting her hands behind her back and briefly glanced at her feet.

"Thanks." Yang replied, somewhat more softly and appreciatively. "We might just take you up on that party offer, too, sometime." she added, referring to what Neon told them after their tournament match, feeling like she needed a different sort of release than what training or a fight gave her, but not at that moment.

"Great! Our door is, like, the only one that's decorated. You can't miss it." Neon smiled, her usual cheerfulness returning some more.

"Why am I not surprised." Yang managed a small smile and Neon's got bigger.

"We'll see you guys in the morning." Sun told Blake and the others, with a nod. He and his team started walking off.

"Well, fo'h those o' ya not goin'ta sleep, we'll show you the music corne'h." Flint said. "It's got a nice buffet with a sweet stage we play on."

"Sounds great." Sun nodded. "But, uh...aren't we a little under-dressed for a place like that? Sounds all classy."

"Have any o' ya been in the liberal arts wing, especially on a weekend?" Flint asked.

"Not really." Sun said.

"Then prepare'ta be surprised." Flint smirked. Neon skated around Yang and Blake to join up, as Ruby stood halfway between the room Weiss went in and them. By the looks of her, she would have liked to go with them, but she did not want to without the rest of her team.

There were two beds on either side of the narrow room that was about half the size of the one they had at Beacon and when Ruby entered the darkened room she found Weiss already lying on one of beds, on the left, closer to the similarly narrow window. Her high-heels were at the foot of the bed, next to a footlocker, which every bed had. Yang and Blake quietly stepped inside, behind Ruby.

"No bunks, here, sis." Yang gently nudged her as she passed Ruby to sit on the bed, nearer to the window, on the right side, opposite from Weiss.

"Yeah." Ruby noted with some sadness and kept looking over to Weiss. Yang threw her coat on the bed and started taking off her boots and rotating her ankles as Blake took the bed next to her. She kept looking at Yang, almost pleadingly, as if she was hoping she would pick up on her worried thoughts. But, without being near the relic, it was a lot less likely to happen. Yang lifted her gaze to look at her, as if sensing Blake's eyes on her and the latter blinked at her in surprise, then, gave her the same searching gaze as before. Ruby plopped down on the one bed that was left and glanced at her friends, who were all silent with either frustration, anger or worry. She was looking at the back of Weiss' head, unable to see the latter's eyes were actually half open and slowly roaming the empty silence of the gloom that descended on them, mulling over the emotionally trying day.

...

"Heh. They took it better than I imagined." Qrow let out a brief chuckle as they left the staff quarters with Ghira and Winter walking behind him. Ironwood was likely asked to stay behind for an extended conversation. "Thought the lines on 'er face were goin' t' just crack till it all fell off, when you told 'em who we left t' run Haven."

"Considering Sienna Khan's actions, in the past, I'm surprised their reaction wasn't more severe." Winter commented, then looked at Ghira. "Even if she has...certain principles." she added.

"I understand their anger." Ghira replied. "And that Sienna will surely not change, _literally_ over-night. But, as I've told them, having her lead Haven Academy can give her a new and better direction. She is a natural born leader. And she can be one for the children of both Faunus and Humans. Her past gives her a unique perspective and experience among the headmasters. They all saw battle in different ways _and_ in her case, on different sides, even. The future generation could learn from that...or at least, learn of it, even if she...won't be giving lectures, personally." he added with a fair amount of doubt.

"Hey, if I could pull it off..." Qrow shrugged, thinking that if he could teach, so can Sienna.

"I was just about to say that." Winter quietly said and Qrow turned his head to throw her a small smirk.

"We...did leave her, very suddenly. I wonder how she is managing the opening of the semester." Ghira said.

...

With an exasperated sigh, Sienna threw a stack of papers in the air, letting them fall around her, as team ABRN and the few teachers who were left of the staff, stood in the center of the study, looking on, with the adult teachers appearing even more nervous than the students.

"Do I have to sign _every one_ of these!?" she exclaimed, leaning back in the chair. She grabbed a paper that just fell in front of her to look at it and made a face. "A _fish-tank_ in the teacher's lounge?" she read one proposal, out loud, leaning on one elbow, with a deadpan face, then turned it towards the group.

"T-that request is from...last semester." One of the male teachers meekly spoke. "From before the…attack." Sienna's expression remained the same as she threw the paper behind her and set her hands down, leaning forward.

"Anything else you've brought me that needs my _immediate attention_?" she sarcastically asked.

"We c-couldn't sort them from the others, yet. But...if you read on..." Sienna gave him a subtle glare. "Uh, t-there are more relevant documents, in there...s-somewhere." Sienna's glare slightly deepened.

"Tch." she leaned back, with a frown, gesturing with a hand. "It looks to me like things were in shambles, even before the attack." she said and slammed her fist down. "Or maybe, ever since Lionheart decided which side he was on and stopped caring for the-..." Members of team ABRN raised their hands, motioning for her to calm down and to not say anything further along those lines and she gave them a small glare for it, but did not continue.

"What...do you...?" A female member of the staff started to cautiously ask what she meant.

"Never mind that!" Sienna shot her a look that stopped the rest of them from even thinking about asking anything, then leaned back, again, relaxing some. "Bother me with what matters and maybe this can go a little faster. For all of us. Now..." She leaned forward, again, making some of the teachers ever so slightly flinch and inch backwards. "Since the Academy is under-staffed, you could use some _aides_. I already have _four_ _**excellent**_ candidates in mind." She looked pointedly at team ABRN, who appeared less than thrilled with their new roles.

...

"Man, this place's gotta be like...some secret get-away spot for you guys!" Sun exclaimed as he and his team were sitting on one side of a buffet-table, with Flint and K across from them, while Jaune, Ren, Nora and Oscar were one table over, after they were led through the spacious gallery of the Arts and Humanities wing. It was much more lively and merrier than the rest of the Academy, as if it was a different world within, with its walls full of paintings showcasing the styles and tastes of different ages, their more loosely-dressed observers, there for the start of the semester, contemplating their meaning and taking inspiration, while soft music from a live-band filled the air, lightly carrying through the entire wing, without being loud. It got darker the closer they got to the stage, as the lights were dimmed in that section, creating an atmosphere of calm that was also full of life.

"It ain't secret, but it's definitely ah own lil' slice o' heaven." K said, as Neon skated figure-eights around their two tables, which were dimly lit by shaded lamps. "Where we don'ave tah put up with folk who cain't appreciate some col'ah, cre'ay'tivity, concerts or...cat-tails." He found something else to alliterate with, clicking his tongue at Neon and her backside, which was gently swaying, as she giddily skated around them. She answered with a huff and playfully whipped her tail, nearly hitting him in the face. The meaning behind his words was understood by everyone, particularly her and Sun. Leaning against a handrail by the wall, near their two tables, Ilia listened more intently, as she understood that humans like the ones they avoided were quick to think they were above even other humans, never mind Faunus. Even though she could actually pass for a human, she experienced enough hate to know what the Faunus in the Academies and lower institutions felt throughout their years. And, here, it seemed, many humans were subject to the same treatment, simply because their passions were different.

"What about the teachers?" Jaune asked, from their table. "I mean, don't they just _order_ everyone to get along?" Jaune incredulously asked, without exaggerating.

"Yeah! Lot of folks say they run the academy like the military, anyway." Sun said, with a frown, sitting with his team. "We didn't think there'd be a slice of _anything_ in this place, except...you know, life." He shrugged with his hands up and picked up his drink.

"Can't blame people fo'h thinkin' that." Flint understood, sitting across from him. "Our Headmaster _is_ also the General, afte'h all. And most o' the students _would_ stand at attention in front'ah their beds, at five AM, even if they weren't told." He was not even joking.

"They fold their socks." Neon leaned in to tell them with graveness, as she passed, as if to say they should avoid people who did that, anyway.

"Yeesh...sounds like a fun bunch." Sun dryly said.

"And most o' tha' faculty is the same way." K said. "But, that's why folk like us _grav'ah'tate_ he'ah. And we help turn this place into ah own. At least, some o' tha' teachez ahr cool with it."

"I think your old headmaster woulda been down with the place, ya know." Flint looked at Jaune and his table. "He seemed like a pretty chill dude." he added, somewhat mournfully and sympathetically.

"Yeah." Jaune exchanged looks with Oscar. "I guess he would've been."

 _"Is...he right?"_ Oscar mentally asked Ozpin, with some amusement in his voice, over the choice of words that were used to describe him.

" _Perhaps one of the briefest summations of my character that I had the opportunity to hear. Also… accurate."_ Ozpin replied with some amusement, as well.

"Everyone, here, is second-year or above, right?" Neptune wondered out loud, as the students they saw moved about with some clear familiarity and comfortableness.

"We got some first-years, too." Neon circled around, passing him and turned to go in reverse to face him as she spoke, turning, again, as she made a lap. "Those who already picked their subjects usually flock together and we wanna help them find their way, here, as fast as we can, like, before the semester even starts. So, they'll know they have a place here." Ilia narrowed her eyes at that.

"But, that's..." she started. "That's just like Menagerie." She shook her head, pushing off the rail and some raised a brow. Neon stopped to look at her, too. "A place for people? Where they can't be hurt by words or worse, but as soon as they leave it, they're targets, again. That's not freedom! That's not equality!" she raised her voice, along with her hands, as she gestured and others noticed the outburst. "An academy shouldn't even need a place like that, but, here, humans treat even their own like they don't belong!" She lowered her voice towards the end, but that did not stop her skin from turning red, much to the surprise of most people, there. They blinked at her, staring in silence and Ilia glanced around, in embarrassment. She slowly started to back away, then turned to leave, but with a few ratcheting of her wheels, Neon was in her path and she put her hands on Ilia's shoulders, stopping her, before she was out of the room.

"Hey, easy, there!" she told her and Ilia was taken aback by the sudden obstruction.

"Out of my way!" She shook of Neon's hands, who only raised them in front of her, after it.

"It's okay. You don't have to leave." Neon said. "And you don't have to be embarrassed, either. I'm angry, too." Neon told her, putting a hand to her chest. "We all are. But, we're not going to change those people. Not with words. Or anything else. Right?" she said. Ilia had to admit those people could not be made more open-minded. Not through any dialogue and especially not through force. Respect out of fear was not genuine and she did not want that, anymore. She learned that. "So, we do what we can to help those who don't have a place, yet and give them one. And as long as we can have fun, they can't really hurt us." Ilia briefly considered her words, then her eyes narrowed and she leaned closer to Neon, looking up at her.

"You don't really believe that works." she told her and Neon's eyes widened. "That thing in the hallway, back there? It hit a nerve. And you didn't smile through it. Did you." Neon averted her eyes at the rhetorical question, in shame. "You just take it, because you can't do anything about it and you're stuck with them for however many years you got left in this place." She looked almost as hurt as she did back then and Ilia realized she was hurling her anger at someone who was not deserving of it. Giving Neon an apologetic glance was all she could manage, after that heated moment and she stepped around her to exit. Neon was left standing, there, with her head hanging, as she looked at the ground with her eyes slowly welling.

"What's that girl's deal?" K asked.

"Uh...we don't know." Jaune said. "Maybe we should ask Blake."

...

Blake slowly stood and went over to sit on Yang's bed as the latter was lying on her back with her good hand behind her head, looking up at the ceiling. Yang's eyes moved down to watch Blake as she sat, when she felt the weight on her bed.

"Are you sure you didn't want to go with them?" Blake quietly asked her.

"I don't really feel like partying right now." Yang said, looking at the ceiling. "Maybe, when this whole mess is over." she muttered and Blake looked at the ground, trying to think of something to say that would lift Yang's spirit.

"You always took _me_ out...when I didn't want to talk to anybody." she reminded her. "Even when I thought I wanted to be left alone." she added, knowing Yang was doing the same and placed her hand on her prosthetic one. Yang's eyes briefly looked at the contact, before she tried to fixate on the ceiling, again. Blake absently started caressing her metallic hand with her thumb and Yang looked at her to see guilt on her face and her eyes briefly widened at it, before she slightly narrowed them. She pulled her hand back and grabbed Blake by the wrist.

"Don't give me that look." Yang told her, sitting up and Blake leaned back, somewhat scared and Yang let go of her. "This isn't on you." she nodded at her prosthetic arm, looking at it.

"But, but if I hadn't..." Blake started.

"No!" Yang raised her voice. Ruby and Weiss silently listened. "If you hadn't been there, I still would've done the same, because I was a stupid hot-head! But, yeah. Seeing you about to get killed, sure as hell didn't help me think straight. But, that's my fault for..." Yang stopped and briefly stared into Blake's eyes, then turned away. "For not...thinking." She came up with something else to say than what she nearly did and Blake could tell. Yang soon felt her embrace from the side. Blake placed her left hand over her prosthetic and her right reached up from behind Yang, to her right shoulder and she laid her head on her left. Yang did not have to tell her she cared about her. Or how much, either.

"But, you _were_ thinking." Blake said and pressed her head closer as she held Yang tighter. "Of _me_." Blake whispered, closing her eyes. Yang closed hers as she took a long, deep breath, then slowly let it out and opened her eyes that were calm, once more.

Weiss' eyes were looking in their direction as she listened. Then she closed them to return to her own thoughts. Ruby watched Yang and Blake as they sat in silence, somewhat relieved they did not get into an argument. She looked back at Weiss and after a brief consideration she slowly rose from the bed, thinking she would follow Blake's example and at least let Weiss know she did not need to be alone with what was troubling her. Ruby took a tentative step towards her, but stopped as a soft knock came on the door and she turned her head. Blake pulled back from Yang to turn towards it, along with her. Weiss slightly moved her head to look from the corner of her eyes, as well, then Ghira's muffled, cautious voice came through.

"Blake?" They heard him call and Blake stood. With a few long steps she was at the door and opened it to see her father standing, there, with his head and torso hidden behind a stack of white towels he was carrying. Qrow and Winter were standing off to the side.

"Dad?" Blake tilted her head at the sight and her father's face appeared, peeking from behind the towels as he turned some.

"I wasn't sure if you and your friends had gone to bed already." He presented the towels for her. "I asked the staff for some towels for all of us, since the unoccupied rooms weren't stocked. Here, take four for your team." he said, extending the stack.

"Oh, um...thanks, dad!" Blake reached up to the top to take one for every one of them. "So...how did the meeting go?" she asked with some hesitation, after she lifted them off and Qrow let out a brief chuckle. Ghira glanced at him, before answering.

"Better than I had expected." he told Blake.

"Really?" Blake also glanced at Qrow, then at her father with surprise and some doubt.

"Well, I was not put in chains and no weapons were held at me." Ghira replied with some humor. "But, that isn't something I would have truly expected...at the academy, at least." he added, clarifying that his problem was with the rest of the kingdom and they could all agree that given the attitude of many of its citizens, his fears were not at all exaggerated or unrealistic.

"They're still a bunch o' snobs..." Qrow muttered, loud enough for it to reach Ruby, who went to the door and leaned out. "Hey, kiddo. Ain't it past yer bed-time?"

"It's not even eight, yet!" Ruby argued as if she was protesting having to go to bed.

"Your bed-time is at eight?" Blake asked, a little surprised at how early that was.

"Well, uh, 8:35." Ruby lightly shrugged.

"That is an...odd time." Ghira said.

"Her old man's weird like that." Qrow commented.

"He has some weird habits." Ruby agreed, looking at her feet.

"Like sending a dog in the mail." Blake recalled with a small smile, then perked up when she saw Ilia coming their way, head hung and she almost passed them without a word if Blake had not called out to her. "Ilia?" The latter stopped and looked up in surprise, as she had been absorbed with her thoughts. "You're back already? Something happened?" Blake was immediately concerned, as she could see she was troubled and guessed that she left the others to be alone.

"Uh-no. I'm fine. I...just wasn't feeling up for a night-out, after all." Ilia came up with an excuse.

"Ilia..." Blake tried to stop and talk to her, reaching her shoulder.

"I said I'm fine!" Ilia turned and her glare quickly melted as she saw the worry on Blake's face, again. "I...I'm just gonna go to bed."

"But...there aren't any rooms left." Ilia stopped to look at her. "There were only four. And they all have only four beds." Blake reminded her.

"It's okay. I'll find a couch in the lounge. Or something." Ilia shrugged and they both remembered sleeping in far more uncomfortable places. She walked off and Blake had to let her.

"Perhaps one of your friends can tell us what happened that upset her." Ghira told her.

"I hope so." Blake looked in the direction Ilia left and there was a brief silence, before Qrow decided to break it.

"I think we all did enough talkin' fer one day. Time fer bed, kiddo!" he told Ruby.

"But, I don't wanna'go to bed, yet." Ruby said.

"What else're you gonna do, huh?" Qrow asked.

"Nothing." Ruby slumped her shoulders, looking at the ground. She knew he had a point, as there was nothing else she could do that she was in the mood for, anyway.

"Get some sleep. Who knows when we're gonna need it." Qrow said and turned to walk in the other direction, away from the rooms.

"And of course, you're not taking your own advice." Winter noted, unsurprised, hands behind her back.

"Who gives advice t' themselves?" Qrow asked, over his shoulder, in mock seriousness, making it sound ridiculous. He stopped to look at Blake. "You can tell yer friend there's a free bed, now." he said and walked on. "But, don't blame me if all the snorin' keeps her up all night!" he added.

"I do not snore." Ghira stated.

"Didn't mean _you_." Qrow turned his head with a smirk he gave Winter, who merely frowned.

"But, where're _you_ gonna sleep!?" Ruby called after him.

"On a branch!" Qrow said, over his shoulder, shrugging and disappeared down the corridor.

"Did he say a _branch_? Or a bench?" Ghira asked, thinking he misheard and looked at Blake, who, in turn, looked at Ruby for an answer, again.

"He's okay with either, I guess." Ruby shrugged. Winter turned, with a hint of a frown, thinking of Qrow's unusual ability and walked towards the room Klein was already sleeping in.

"I will find Ilia and tell her there is a bed for her." Ghira told Blake, who nodded, appreciatively. "Good night." he added, for both of them and went back down the hall.

"Good night, dad!" Blake waved.

"Good night." Ruby said, as well, more quietly. They lingered for a moment longer and retired to their room.

...

Raven sat on Yang's bed, in the latter's untouched room, her sleepless, dried eyes, looking at a framed picture on a shelf, of her only daughter and the only man who was brave and stupid enough to try and win her hearth and succeeded at it, however briefly. The latter was chopping logs, outside, the sounds of which she could hear and remember, in the mornings, from all those years ago. An unlikely connection that lasted long enough to bore new life that she brought into the world knowing what they would face. Yet, she still abandoned her, ignored her for most of her childhood and when Yang finally found her way to her, she chose to betray her, along with the only family that still cared for her. Her fight with her brother already sealed it and she recalled the moment.

 _"We're not family, anymore." Qrow told her as they locked swords._

 _"Were we ever?" Raven asked._

 _"I thought so. But, I guess I was wrong." Qrow replied to her betrayal._

Getting confronted by her daughter, a second time, did not lead to the cold farewell she was expecting to leave her with, either.

 _'"You don't know the first thing about strength!"_

 _"Because you're afraid of Salem!"_

 _"And if you thought having Maiden powers made you a target, before, whaddoyou think happens, when she finds out you have a relic?"_

She convinced herself and almost everyone else it was her strength that drove her. Her daughter made her realize and admit to herself that the one who truly had strength and courage was not her. For all the years Raven had been avoiding most of her family, for all the time she spent gathering information on Salem and her forces, trying to be a step ahead of everyone to protect her tribe, all she really had spurring her on, was fear. It drove her to turn on her own blood. A brother, who still considered her family, even after all she had done, as she returned to the life of a bandit, pillaging and hurting the innocent and who kept trying to get her to return. And a daughter, who, despite it all, chose to make herself the target of the very being Raven had been running from her whole adult life, taking a burden off of her that would have guaranteed she either would have had to run for the rest of her life or it would have cut it short. The thought of dying came with an image of Vernal's wide, lifeless eyes that stared, not off into the dark, empty chamber, but hauntingly at her, sending a jolt through Raven that brought her out of her thoughts. She put a hand to her temple and closed her eyes, hoping she would not see the same thing, then opened them.

She realized that since no one but Yang knew the truth about her and the Spring Maiden's power, she was no longer in Salem's sights and as far as the latter could have been informed, both Maidens died at Haven. Narrowing her eyes, Raven was not betting on that it would remain a secret forever. Salem will surely find it unlikely that the two Maidens could kill each other, she thought. Sooner or later, she knew she will be in more danger from Salem than ever before. She was not going to fool herself into believing she was safe. Her fear was returning, but this time, she was not running from it. If she was going to redeem herself, she will make sure that if Salem was coming after her daughter and the relic or the power of the Spring Maiden, she would have to go through her, either way. She stood from the bed.

Taiyang stopped in his chopping, when he heard quiet steps behind him and turned to see Raven and as she stood, there, he saw something in her eyes that he never saw, before. A glimmer. A need. But, he was not sure for what, until she spoke.

"I wanna make things right." Raven stated.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Homecoming Infiltration

The next morning, in Atlas, Weiss slowly opened her eyes, barely feeling the effects of a night's rest. She turned around, hoping to have a little more, only to come face to face with a still dozing, slightly snoring Ruby. Weiss' eyes widened as she was lying there, then she slowly sat up, staring and wondering how, when and why Ruby got there.

"You were turning in your sleep." Blake's quiet voice made Weiss look at her in alarm. "She thought you were having a nightmare and she sat with you to calm you down, then she probably fell asleep." Blake explained and Weiss only noticed, then, she was sitting on Yang's bed. "I did, too." Blake added, glancing at Yang and it was clear she tried to comfort her the same way. Weiss looked at Ruby's sleeping face and sighed. Yang stirred awake from her voice, propped herself up on her elbow and squinted at her.

"Blake? What's going on..." she sleepily asked.

"Nothing. You just slept in." Blake smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I did?" Yang was surprised to hear that and yawned. "I was pretty sure I'd have a nightmare." she said, looking down and missed Blake and Weiss' quick exchange of looks.

"I'm...glad you didn't." Blake told her, feeling even better that Yang did not even remember she had one. The comfortable silence was over before it could last, as Ruby yelled and her eyes opened. She shot up, startling Weiss and rolled out of bed. She landed on her feet, which immediately gave out. With a thud, she fell on her butt and groaned.

"Oww..." she moaned, trying to massage it as she sat. "I woke up...but my legs didn't." she stated with pained pause.

"Whoever you were gonna fight got lucky." Yang told her, jokingly. Ruby likely woke from a dream. Weiss actually had a small smile as she shook her head at her silliness.

" _You're_ lucky you weren't up in your bunk." Weiss said. Ruby only saw she was awake and sitting, then.

"Oh, uh...hey." Ruby greeted her. "Are...you okay?" she asked and Weiss glanced at Blake. If she had not told her what happened, she would not have understood why Ruby was asking her.

"Y-yes. Why wouldn't I be?" Weiss asked, glancing at Blake and Yang, again, feigning both that the question was strange to her and that she was fine.

"Uh..." Ruby hesitated. "Okay." She did not say anything more and Weiss could see she was acting like Blake, by not telling her she had a nightmare.

"So...what are we going to do?" Blake asked, looking at Weiss, then at Yang.

"Dig up dirt on Weiss' dad, maybe? Can't really do anything else." Yang shrugged with one shoulder and Weiss looked down, in front of her, contemplatively.

"We need to find people who can tell us something we can use against him." Blake suggested and Weiss looked up.

"We'll have to start with Klein." Weiss stated.

...

"I hope I didn't keep any of you up fo'h long!" Klein was telling Winter and Ghira, as he tied his shoes, assuming his snoring may have bothered them.

"Not at all." Ghira replied.

"I'm not a deep sleeper, anyway." Winter stated as she stood and put her sleeveless coat on, meaning she did hear Klein's snoring, but she was not bothered by it and her getting a lack of sleep was not his fault.

"Oh, yes. You neve'h were, my dea'h." Klein said, reminiscing. "Even when you were little." he added and Winter appeared to be reflecting on it. The door of their room was open and Blake appeared in it.

"Dad?" Ghira turned with Winter and Klein.

"Blake! Good morning!" Ghira warmly smiled. "Have all of you slept well?" he asked.

"Yes." she beamed. "Um..." She looked around in the room. "Where's Ilia? Did you find her last night?" Blake asked, with worry, when she could not see her.

"I did." Ghira said. "She didn't want to come back, right away. However..." He gestured at Winter. "Miss Schnee told me she heard and saw her quietly come in, late last night and she took the empty bed." he explained and Blake was relieved. "So…what are you and your friends planning on doing today?" he asked and Blake looked at Winter and Klein.

"Um…" Blake hesitated and Winter could tell what was coming next.

…

Weiss was silently looking out their room's window, at the sprawling city, outside the school's grounds. Ruby sat on her bed with Klein, Blake and Yang on the latter's bed and Winter stood between.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised the list is that long." Winter stated, looking at Klein, after they listened to all the information and names he could give them, just atop his head.

"Knowing about them is not difficult." Klein stated. "Neithe'h is keeping silent." he added.

"Like everyone." Yang frowned.

"But, not being able to do anything…" Blake started.

" _That_ is the ha'hdest." Klein finished. "And there are precious few who even want to." he looked at the floor.

"But, none of them are us." He looked up at Weiss' words, who leaned on the window sill. "None of them have the Schnee name. We're the only ones who can really do anything. Anyone else isn't taken seriously."

"Or they're paid off." Yang added.

"Also, coerced." Winter added.

"But, how can we talk to that many people?" Ruby asked, but she already knew, as did the rest.

"We can't." Winter stated. "Especially not with the threat we're facing. And we don't know how much time we have."

"Maybe we could start with your father's associates in the military." Blake suggested. "You can ask them to tell you what we need."

"I wouldn't be _asking._ " Winter corrected her, implying it would be more of an interrogation. "But, even if we went through the proper channels, they could still charge us with harassment. Even defamation."

"De…what?" Ruby blinked and Winter sighed.

"For trying to ruin their reputation." she explained.

"Oh." Ruby understood.

"Maybe we don't need to go after anyone." Yang said and all turned to her. "The only one we really need to talk to is your dad. We can set up a meeting. Like, at the place where…uh…" Yang glanced at Klein, remembering he did not know about the relic. "You went with the General." she said, looking at Winter, who was puzzled.

"Why there? And to do what? Threaten him?" she asked.

"Well…kinda." Yang shrugged. "And…we can be sure he can't call for help, all the way down there. No one else needs to know and we can make him talk." Yang suggested.

"And what reason would he have to meet with any of us?" Winter asked.

"We can pretend to be someone else. Only talk to him on the phone. Get one of the names on the list to meet with him and go in their place. Or even better! Play both of them and make them think the meetings legit, so they'll talk like they normally would." Yang brainstormed.

"Freely. Yes." Winter understood, but had her reservations. "We cannot control the direction of the conversation, however. If nothing incriminating is said, we can't use any of it." she pointed out and Yang knew she was right, as far as eavesdropping went. "Still, not a bad idea." Winter added. "And here I thought you were the brawn of this team." she told her, glancing at the rest with the smallest of smiles. Yang's eyes briefly widened, then she folded her arms, squaring her jaw and gave Winter a small frown.

"Very funny." Yang muttered.

"A deception like that won't be easy to organize." Winter stated. "We will need information on whoever our father has met recently or people he has yet to meet. His itinerary. In other words…" she paused. "We need to infiltrate his office…in our family's estate." she said, looking at Weiss, who narrowed her eyes, nodding and looked out the window.

…

"Why do you want to meet in that place?" Blake was quietly asking Yang in the restroom, as they stood in front of the mirror. "You want to read their minds?" she asked her reflection, as she was washing her face, while Yang leaned against the wall.

"Even if they talk like nothing's going on, like Winter said, it'll be even better if I can hear what they really think. Get some extra info, you know. But, that's after we know what to work with? Until then…" Yang shrugged. "Whaddoyou wanna do?"

"I have to see how my father is doing with the teachers. The opening ceremony is supposed to be in a few hours." Blake said. "And I want to find Ilia and talk to her. This place…it…just seems to… " She paused to look at Yang. "Make everyone so angry." Yang realized she was also referring to her behavior and looked at the ground.

…

Ilia was sitting on a high-chair, at the same buffet from the night before, staring in front of herself, not even sure why she was there, of all places. She heard what sounded like roller-skates and lifted her head when she heard a familiar cheery voice.

"Hey, cutie! Can I get you any…?" Neon paused mid-question, when she saw it was her, losing her pep. She was mostly wearing her usual outfit, but with a waitress' top that had the color-scheme and symbol of the academy on it. Ilia appeared just as surprised to see her. "Um…s-sorry, I'm just gonna…" she turned to roll away.

"No, wait!" Ilia called after her. "I'm…" Ilia started, trying to find the simplest of words. "I'm sorry. For last night. For what I said. I…I had no right saying any of that to you." Neon idled for a second, then slowly rolled back to her and Ilia hung her head. "You didn't deserve it. None of you did. I thought you were cowards for not fighting back and just keeping to yourselves in this place, but…I never had to worry about any of that, when I lived here." Neon blinked in surprise.

"You're from Atlas?" she asked. "And the academy?" she asked.

"N-no! Not the academy." Ilia corrected herself. "But, I went to school in the kingdom. I just…I was never bullied for…being Faunus. No one knew. As long as I didn't change colors, no one could tell." she explained and Neon was looking her up and down, only really noting how human she looked. "I didn't even have to put up with any bullies, like…like you do. I had no right to tell you how to deal with it all, when _**I**_ never had to, so…I'm sorry."

"You weren't wrong." Neon said, lowering her gaze and Ilia looked up at her in surprise.

"We all choose the easy way out. I mean, sure, if we started a fight, we'd be booted from the school, but that's not really why we don't do anything. It's just…we can't go around punching everyone, who says mean things to us. It wouldn't change them. They'd only hate us more. And even if they'd stop bullying us, they'd do it, because they'd be afraid. That's not really equality. Right…?" Neon explained and Ilia could see Blake and her family in her. The exact thing they would say and have said to her. Why she was wrong to see their actions as acts of cowardice, rather than strength. To be wise enough not to so easily become like the people that hate them. It took more effort and character not to respond with the same hatred, intimidation and violence. Ilia must have been silent for quite a few long seconds, before she finally came back to the moment and looked at Neon. She briefly averted her gaze, then met it, again.

"Right…I…uh…" she stammered.

"Maaaybe we could…start over?" Neon offered, starting to strafe, with a small smile and Ilia was, again, humbled by the forgiveness she was receiving.

"Y-yeah…sure…I'd…like that. Um…" Ilia did not really know what else to say. "I'm…I'm Ilia…" She hesitantly raised her hand, after a second, as if she had forgotten to do it and rubbed the back of her neck with the other, giving Neon a nervous smile.

"Neon." she lightly took Ilia's hand and shook it, then her eyes widened with intrigue as the latter's freckles turned pink and after Ilia noticed, herself, her cheeks flushed. She looked up, when she heard Neon giggle.

"You're like a rainbow." she told her, with amazement. "Well, you're not the only one!" She wagged her finger in front of Ilia's face, laughingly trailing a small rainbow arc with her semblance. "So…" she propped herself on her elbows and forearms. "What can I get you?"

"Oh, uh…I dunno. W-what are you even doing here?" Ilia asked, instead. "Isn't the opening ceremony for the semester _today_?"

"Sure it is! But, I like working, here, whenever I can. We'll have band practice, pretty soon, anyway. I'm just trying not to worry about it, like yesterday. And I gotta keep earning to get by. I mean, the scholarship is great and all and I've got, like, no bills to pay, 'cause I live in the dorm, but it helps to, you know, keep my busy, so I won't worry about stuff, at least for a little while." Neon shrugged. "Actually…I'm so glad we could talk!" she exclaimed. "I was, like, totally down in the dumps all morning, but now I'm feeling like a million Liens. Well, money doesn't make you happy, but you know what I mean." she rambled and Ilia found her attitude, in that moment, oddly charming and she was happy that she did not ruin a big day for her, along with her spirit.

"I do. And I…I'm glad, too." She mirrored her smile.

"So, what'll you be having?" Neon asked, again, pushing off the counter and put her fingers together.

"Um…not sure. Can…you recommend anything?"

"Tons!" Neon replied. "How about I make you a smoothie? I got just the thing in mind!"

"O-okay. Sure." Ilia nodded.

"Be right back!" Neon winked and rolled away, leaving Ilia smiling to herself.

…

"Good morniiing, team ORNJ!" Nora jumped and bounced along the beds of all three of the boys, making Jaune fall off and Oscar could barely avoid her, still waking up.

"There was no chance of us sleeping in, was there?" he asked, groggily.

"None at all." Ren calmly replied, more adjusted to the alarm-clock that was Nora.

"You know, I'm still on the fence about that name." Jaune muttered, sitting on the floor, half-naked and referring to the team name Nora came up with, last night.

"At least, it's a color." Ren said, adjusting his cuffs, as he was already fully clothed, having been awake, before Nora's impromptu morning wake-up call.

"My name's the last…" Jaune hung his head.

"You _know_ it doesn't mean anything." Ren reminded him. Jaune sighed.

"I know." he said.

"And it's not official." Ren added.

"Hhh. Good..." Oscar sighed. "I don't know the first thing about leading a team." He was looking in his lap and Jaune saw himself in him.

"Well…" He stood up. "Neither did I." he told Oscar, who looked up at him, then smiled, appreciatively, at his attempt to encourage him. A knock came on their door and Ruby poked her head in.

"Hey! Morning!" she said with a smile.

"Hey, Ruby! What's up?" Jaune asked.

"Well…" Ruby stepped in, partially closing the door behind her and glancing around. "We're kinda going on a _stealth mission_." Ruby said, lowering her voice at the end. All of team ORNJ stared at her and exchanged looks.

"Where?" Jaune finally asked, with some due worry.

…

"It's _that_ one…" Weiss pointed from their room's window, towards the district that was, obvious from the size of the residences and their appearance, home to the richest and most influential people in Atlas. "The first in that row." she narrowed it down for them and they gaped at the large, almost palace-like building that was the Schnee Family Estate.

"You're gotta be kidding!" Jaune exclaimed. "A whole village could live in that!"

"The proceeds from selling a single candleholder could feed one." Winter commented, with disgust, thinking about how far their family distanced itself from elevating not just itself and the kingdom, but all of its citizens, since the days of their grandfather. His vision and charity was lost and turned into a business empire only concerned with profit and power. Still innovating, but no longer caring about the integrity and openness of the minds of the people, who became selfish, greedy and apathetic.

"How many toilets do you have?" Nora asked the serious question.

"I…never actually counted them." Weiss replied and they could guess it was not a low number.

"How are you even going to get inside that place?" Jaune asked. "It's gotta be full of guards."

"It is." Winter confirmed. "Especially since the attacks. And Klein was the only member of the staff who was ever a friend. It's also safe to assume the passage you used to escape has been blocked or it's well-guarded, now." she told Weiss, who was not deterred by her words.

"We have to find a way." Weiss turned to look out the window, again, but stepped back in surprise as a crow landed on the sill. They exchanged looks and Ruby opened the window. The bird hopped in, on the inner sill.

"Uncle?" Ruby asked, leaning closer, then an idea came to her. She suddenly grabbed him.

"Kaw-…!" Qrow let out a surprised caw as Ruby pulled him in.

"You're _just_ what we need!" Ruby exclaimed, shaking him in excitement, but stopped when she saw his head was spinning. "Oh! Sorry…" Ruby sheepishly said and looked around, then decided to set him down on her bed and stepped back. Qrow shifted back into human form, holding his head and shook it, once.

"What're you talkin' 'bout? What're you up to, kiddo?" he asked, leaning forward and Ruby looked from Weiss to Winter.

"Uh…" she started and Qrow raised a brow, suspiciously.

…

Ironwood's seat at the head of the meeting room's table was still empty, with papers neatly organized in front of everyone. Steaming mugs and cups of different brews were flanked with biscuits and napkins. The door was open to let any aides or other staff in, as it was not a closed meeting and Blake quietly stood in the doorway to see what was going on. She saw her father was having a rather animated, but all-around jovial conversation with an elderly man, while the short-haired woman stood close by, pretending to be reading one of the papers in her hand, but by the movement of her eyes, she was obviously listening to them, while she sipped from her cup. Blake briefly thought she looked like Winter, only older, but with her hair cut really short and her passive expression was also quite similar. The other teachers, younger than them, were shooting the breeze over the table, backs straight, gestures rigid and reserved. Though they were speaking more candidly, their militaristic life-style was still evident in their mannerisms, even amongst themselves.

"I'd be remiss not to go, at least, one more time." the elderly teacher was saying to Ghira. "I was still writing my dissertation, the last time I've seen it."

"I'd be delighted to have you visit Menagerie." Ghira replied. "It has grown. Though, it is still very much isolated from the rest of the world."

"Building a tower or even a combat school, would be little more than symbolic, I'm afraid. Vacuo has both and yet they still keep themselves, mostly. Granted, they have always being rather aloof."

"I agree." Ghira said. "While instant communication and a combat school would certainly be welcome, people would still have to integrate or…reintegrate. Many would want to travel and live on the main continents, but those same people are also afraid of still being ostracized and not without reason." The man nodded in agreement. The latter slightly turned his head to look behind him and Ghira followed his eyes to see his daughter was standing in the doorway with a smile, hands folded in front of herself.

"Hi, dad." she said. "I…hope I'm not interrupting. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"Oh, I'm very much enjoying myself." Ghira replied. "We were just discussing history. The future, also."

"And getting ahead of ourselves, perhaps." The elder teacher joked, reflecting on their discussion.

"Well…we're both enthusiastic about building relationships between the kingdoms, despite the current climate." Ghira said.

"And I'm definitely not helping it." A clean-shaven Ironwood stepped inside, startling Blake. "Ms. Belladonna." he acknowledged her.

"General." she nodded.

"Morning, James. You are…looking better." The elderly teacher commented, with some small relief.

"On speaking terms, again, with your mirror, I see." One slightly younger male teacher, with less gray in his close-cropped dark-brown hair, said.

"Not a day too soon. It _is_ the opening ceremony, today." The older woman said, putting her cup on the table, along with the piece of paper. "Glad to have you back, James." she said, her even tone suggesting that all had been expecting him to get it together before the start of the semester.

"I'm sure you were prepared to have me tied and be given a shave, if I hadn't done it myself." Ironwood said in jest, with only the hint of a smile, walking further in.

"You know me well." The woman replied in the same tone, but this time, it sounded like a veiled threat, only partially in jest and Ironwood knew that.

"I didn't hear any shouting, so I'm guessing everyone has calmed down, from last night's…briefing." Ironwood stopped to look at Ghira, at that.

"Everything happening these days is out of the ordinary or completely unorthodox." the elder teacher said. "We need to direct our energy to issues that could have more immediate repercussions should we fail to address them."

"Energy or outrage?" the younger male teacher asked.

"Outrage is a lot of wasted energy." A younger female teacher, with her ash-brown hair in bun, said.

"That book on meditation is really working out for you." Another male teacher, of similar age, with neatly combed blonde-hair told her, somewhat mockingly and the woman gave him a small frown.

"Alright…" Ironwood walked on, to the head of the table. "Let's start. We have until noon to make certain additions to the opening speech that won't cause a kingdom-wide…outrage." he used the word.

"I…"Ghira started and Ironwood knew what he wanted to ask.

"You will be given time for a message of your own, of course." Ironwood told him.

"Thank you. I've actually still have the speech I gave to the people of Kou Kuana. It could serve as a template, along with yours."

"Here's my copy." the elderly teacher said, handing one from the folder on the table. Ghira squinted at it and reached into his coat-pocket again, only to be reminded it was empty.

"I've forgotten that I...have forgotten my reading-glasses." he sheepishly said, glancing at Blake, who stifled a small laugh.

"What strength do you need?" the elderly teacher asked, fishing for his and partially pulled it from his coat-pocket.

"2.25." Ghira said.

"Oh, pity. My prescriptions are far stronger. They would only give you a headache, I'm afraid." he apologetically told him.

"Take mine." the stern woman took a pair of thin, rectangular, half-rimmed glasses from her pocket.

"Oh." Ghira was not expecting she would be the one to help him out. He carefully took them and put them on, his vision instantly being corrected. "These are just right. Thank you!" he smiled.

"How were you reading without them, a minute ago?" the elderly teacher asked with a small smirk, suspecting she was listening to them, instead and a small glare from her confirmed it. "We'll, chalk it up to vanity." he added and her glare deepened, preferring the lie even less. Blake noticed that as her father was reading, the woman's eyes slowly roamed his large figure and her expression lost its edge. She briefly met Blake's laughing eyes and the latter raised a brow, giving her a small smile, clearly having caught her eyeing her father. The woman averted her narrowed eyes, turning slightly away to look at the walls.

…

"No way!" Qrow said, as they were looking at the Schnee Estate, on elevated ground, from edge of the academy's campus. Downhill from them was a wide set of winding stairs, thick concrete walls, barricades and guard-stations, followed by a promenade that was the first street ever built in the new capital. Beyond it, were the many offices and government owned buildings, in a narrow ring around the academy, after which were the residential districts. The first, most recognizable residence being the Schnee Family Estate with the archways of its courtyard and a large fountain that had a statute of their family crest with a pair of wings around it.

"But, why!?" Ruby squeaked.

"I ain't goin' anywhere near that place." Qrow folded his arms.

"Come _on_!" Yang exclaimed, gesturing at the others. "Stop being so fussy, just because it's all… _regal_." Even the word was foreign to them, never mind the actual life-style and environment. "Let's face it. None of us is really good at sneaking around." Nora was gesturing with her index-finger above Ren's head, whispering the word _ninja_. " _You_ could be in and outta there in a minute, with your bird-thing."

"Even if I'd make it there, how am I supposed t' get in? Smash through a locked window? Hah. That'll be quiet." Qrow laughed, derisively.

"You don't have to smash windows! You can just, I dunno, turn back and…cut a hole in the window." Yang shrugged.

"That no one would see?" Qrow pointed out the flaw to her.

"Well…think like a _bandit_ , then?" Yang folded her arms and Qrow shot her a glare.

"We need a _burglar_. Not a bandit." Winter said and they looked at her. "And I may have a point of entry for you." she added. Qrow raised a brow at the hint of amusement in her eyes and voice.

…

Jacque Schnee's office was at the very top of the main building of the estate. A long room with a row of bookshelves on both sides, likely filled by the previous head of the family. Above those were short, narrow windows on both sides. Jacque was sitting at his desk, right elbow on his chair's armrest, as he rested his head, his thumb under his chin and index-finger on the side of his face. He was holding a paper in his other hand, looking utterly bored mulling over the meaningless details of another contract. He threw the paper on the desk with no real care and stood. Then headed for the door and left his office, closing and locking the door behind him. A crow was perched outside, on the closed window's sill that took off the moment it saw he left. A rustle came from the ventilation shaft and the bird came tumbling down and breaking through the loosely screwed-in grate. Qrow hit the ground with a thud and a groan. He slowly stood and dusted himself off, then looked around to get his bearings. He quickly screwed the panel back in, then approached desk, looking up at the self-portrait of a younger Jacque on the wall, behind the desk.

"Hmph. The ego on this guy…" he muttered, then went around the desk and started searching what was on top, in the filing cabinets and the cupboards.

"Funny…" Yang was saying outside, where they still were. "My mom's semblance could've got all of us in there. Hmph." She folded her arms, finding it ironic how useful Raven's ability could have been, had she joined them, instead of betraying them.

"The fewer of us went in, the better." Winter told her.

"Yeah, well…we could've just hopped back to Vale, too. Got a ride to Atlas from _there_. Saw our dad, while we were at it." Yang shrugged with some frustration and Ruby too looked as if she would have liked that.

"It does sound like a very niche ability that is useful only in very particular situations." Winter commented.

"Tch. You sounded like a _gamer_." Yang said with a small laugh.

"A _what_?" Winter raised a brow.

"Never mind." Yang muttered.

"It's a shame father did not keep the old fireplace." Winter said. "It would have been easier to enter through there, if…a bit messier." she added.

"You would've loved to see Qrow covered in soot, huh?" Yang had a small smirk.

"I'm sure his way in was…uncomfortable enough." Winter stated with the hint of a smile.

...

Qrow was quietly rifling through everything, without success, getting frustrated.

"How hard is it t' find a damn calendar or whatever?" he muttered. He heard a key being inserted into the lock, outside the door and looked up in alarm. He quickly glanced around to see if he had left anything out of place and to see where he could possibly hide. The door opened and Jacque came back in, shut the door behind himself and slowly walked to his desk, taking his scroll out, half-way there, to flip through something on it. He sat, navigating a page with his thumb as a crow peeked from on top of the bookshelf, having a hunch the thing it was looking for was on the device itself.

"Isn't this taking too long?" Jaune asked and Ruby looked the most worried.

The problem was, Qrow could not possibly know how long Jacque was going to stay in his office and even if he did, it was certain he would not leave his scroll behind under any circumstance. He did not want to find out how long he would have to stay in there. He leapt from the shelves, briefly spreading his wings to kite above Jacque, who suddenly felt a sharp pain on the back his head that faded as quickly as it came, along with the world around him. He did not even feel his own head hitting the desk, as Qrow stood behind him.

"That's fer being uh…fer being _you_ , I guess." he told him and quickly picked up the scroll that was unlocked and began looking through it. Deciding it would take too much time, he took out his own scroll and started sending all the information he needed over to it, taking several minutes. "Come on, come on…" He impatiently urged the transfer. "Got it." he said and placed Jacque's scroll loosely back in his hand. He looked at the vent he came through, knowing he could not leave the same way. He quietly walked towards the door, thinking about checking if the corridor were empty, when a knock came that made him freeze.

"Father?" A boy's voice came through and the door opened. Whitley step inside, then got alarmed when saw him with his head on the table. "Father…!" he took a few quick steps inside, not seeing a certain small avian hopping out the door, behind him. "Father, wake up!"

"Huh...uh…what…?" Qrow could hear Jacque coming to his senses, but their voices faded as he moved farther away. "Whitley? What are you doing here?"

Qrow carefully peeked around a corner, flew through a corridor, avoiding some guards, until he got to the courtyard, from where he took to the air, keeping close to the ground to avoid being spotted. He knew a lone crow, in the middle of a city devoid of any stray animals or wildlife would have been an unusual sight and that any guardsmen or soldier would try to shoot him with tranquilizers or…a net.

"Kaw-…!?" Qrow exclaimed as a net suddenly wrapped around him, dragging him from the air into a bush and a patrol officer stood from where he knelt with a launcher, up in a small guard-tower on the corner of the estate.

"Who knew riot-gear would come in handy." The guard exclaimed, awfully pleased with his catch.

"You could've just shot it." His patrol partner said.

"And have a whole report written on me for unauthorized weapon discharge? No thanks!" the first one replied.

"Well, so is _this_." the other one pointed.

"Yeah, but nobody _heard_ **this** one." came the smug reply.

"Oh, no…" Ruby whispered, watching from a distance as they took Qrow inside.

…

"What're they gonna do with him?" Yang asked Winter after they calmed themselves.

"Every wild animal that's caught inside a dome is handled by the same response team. They'll send a unit to capture or to pick up. Then release them back into the wild, away from the city. We have only a quarter of an hour, at most, to retrieve him, before they arrive to take him away." Winter explained.

"W-we could tell them his ours. Like a pet." Ruby suggested.

"That would raise suspicion and our father would be notified as soon as they'd see any of us on the estate." Winter reminded her.

"We…could just wait until they bring him outside the city and get him, couldn't we?" Jaune asked.

"But, what if he wakes up and changes, in front of people?" Ruby worriedly asked.

"They'd take him to the nearest post for interrogation, thinking he's a spy." Winter replied.

"Okay. Looks like we have no choice but to get in and bust him out, then…quietly, I mean." Yang corrected herself, when she saw Winter's disapproving expression.

"We can only rely on those of us who can move fast and someone who knows the layout." Winter said. Weiss and Ruby exchanged looks, knowing they were the only ones suitable for it, aside from Winter.

"But, you know your way around, too, don't you?" Yang folded her arms.

"Stealth…isn't really my forte." Winter admitted.

"Well, it's not _mine_!" Weiss pointed out.

"You two are used to moving as a team." Winter replied. "You're light on your feet. And I've seen you can both improvise, when you need to."

"Hello-oh! Ninjaaa…!" Nora waved, pointing at Ren, again, with her other hand.

"Nora…" Ren shook his head at her, telling her to stop trying.

"It has to be you." Winter told them and Weiss looked at Ruby with some worry, but then they both nodded at each other, mustering some courage. "You haven't much time. You need to hurry." Weiss walked over to the edge with Ruby, placing her hands on the metallic handrail.

"Tch. _Really_ could use my mom's semblance, right now." Yang commented, arms still folded.

"How are we even going to make it inside without anyone seeing us?" Weiss asked and looked at Ruby. " _You're_ the fast one. But, if I use my glyphs to jump over they'll definitely see us." Ruby thought about it and an idea quickly came to her.

…

Back in the buffet, Ilia was tracing a finger around the top of a half-empty glass Neon made for her with a mix of drinks that looked like a swirling rainbow. There were a few people around, spread out at different tables, checking and filling out forms, typing things up on their devices or just enjoying the quiet, lost in their thoughts.

"I only saw pictures…" Neon was saying to Ilia, as she organized a shelf of items. "All those palms trees and those big huts! Totally looks like a vacation spot, but I know it's, like, only a small part of it." she said gesturing with one hand and wiped the shelf, using a cloth, with the other. "We learned in school most of it is way too hot and dangerous."

"Pretty much." Ilia said. "Hey, you said you live in the dorms, right? So…where did you live, before?" Ilia asked and Neon turned from the shelves at her question, visibly becoming uncomfortable.

"Oh, um…I…" she hesitated. "I…don't have…anywhere else..." she looked at the ground and did not need to finish, before Ilia realized why. Priscilla's comment about her being a stray, though insensitive, made sense then.

"You mean, your parents are…" she deduced and Neon let out a deep sigh. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to…" Ilia started, but then, seeing she stirred up those memories for Neon, she decided she would tell her she is not alone. "My…parents..." Ilia continued. "I…lost them, too." she said and Neon raised her head, in surprise. "In a mining accident. That was the day I…was expelled from my school. I could always fit in with other kids, but…that day, there were showing an accident on the news. I knew my parents were working in the same mine that collapsed. I knew they were…gone." Neon intently listened. "I couldn't control my ability and I changed color. In front of everyone. While they were laughing at the news. Priscilla and others like her…who I thought were my friends, they _all_ laughed at the Faunus who died. And that's when I snapped. They didn't even have time to be surprised when they saw me change. In the next second, I was…" she reconsidered going into further detail about how she beat them. "They ended up in the school infirmary and I didn't even wait for them to expel me. I ran from the kingdom the same day." Ilia's hands were slightly trembling, but stopped when Neon placed her own hands on them and Ilia slowly met her eyes that were full of understanding.

…

After having listened to latter's plan, Weiss, along with Ruby, made it to the evenly trimmed shrubs near the tall fence, where the patrolling officers could not see them and waited. Up at the edge of the academy's courtyard Nora took Manghild off her back, transformed into its grenade-launcher form and aimed at a point, high above the estate. She started launching her grenades, one by one. The first went off in a pink puff, drawing the attention of every nearby guard, who all looked up and wondered what was going on. Weiss and Ruby did not waste time. As soon as the first explosion went off, Ruby grabbed Weiss with both hands, nodding to her, asking if she was ready and got one in return. The second grenade went off, keeping the guards perplexed, who missed a red and white blur go over the fence and shot across the estate's courtyard, low to the ground. It briefly stopped at the base of the fountain, where Ruby was holding onto Weiss, for a second, before blurring forward, again.

"Anyone authorized fireworks?" One guard asked another.

"In the middle of the day?" The other asked back, finding that to be ridiculous, getting a shrug in reply.

The rush of petals went past the fountain and into some hedges that were cut into the shapes of triangles, close to the back entrance. Ruby emerged, still holding Weiss and steadied her, as she seemed momentarily disoriented.

"Ouuh…how do you do this all the time?" Weiss moaned and briefly put her hand to her mouth, feeling like she was going to hurl, but it passed. Through a pair of binoculars she used when travelling the countryside, Yang was watching them.

"I'm sure glad they didn't take _you_ with them." Yang said and handed the binoculars over to Jaune, who looked through them and immediately got her meaning. He lowered the binoculars with a frown.

"Very funny." he muttered, handing them back to Yang.

Ruby poked her head out to take a quick glance around, seeing all the guards were still staring up at what she figured were the last couple of grenades she told Nora to keep firing every few seconds. She crouched back down and tilted her head as Weiss took a breather. "You okay?" Another went off.

"I'm fine…we should move." Weiss replied and Ruby looked up at the back of the main building that was easily three regular stories high, if not double that height, when someone considered how high the ceiling was on each floor. Ruby spotted a maid scrubbing an open window on the first floor, from a ladder, who also paused to look at the explosions in the sky and Ruby took that as an opportunity. Weiss gasped as Ruby wrapped her in a blur without a word and shot all the way up and inside the window, zipping between the legs of the ladder, rattling it some. The maid grabbed on and looked down, wondering in surprise what made it shake, she kept inspecting it, while Ruby and Weiss were already hiding behind the pillar of an arch, several windows' distance down the hall, near a corner. Ruby frantically looked around for any guards, also checking to see the maid was still occupied. She briefly stared at the size of the hall and the decorations, then turned to Weiss to find she was taking her high-heels off and let out a quiet snort, laughing.

"Hush." Weiss gave her a small frown, but with the hint of a smile. She knew the carpets in the halls did not completely muffle the sound of her heels clicking on the floor. She also checked if the maid still had her back turned before motioning for Ruby to move and she followed her to the corner that was turning right. Weiss chanced a peek around it, hoping a guard was not coming right down the hall at that moment who could have noticed her. Seeing there was only one, walking in the opposite direction, on the far end, she motioned for Ruby to move on and pointed to what looked like an intersection, midway through. Ruby nodded, before she grabbed her and shot towards it, stopping a few paces away. Weiss looked again and briefly touched Ruby's hand to signal her to move and Ruby realized they were at a stairwell, which Weiss knew, beforehand. The latter slowly leaned over the handrail to see if anyone was below and turned to Ruby. "Winter said they log any captured animals in the reception hall, at the front, before they move them to the main-gate. That's just below us. If we're…um…lucky, your uncle is still there." Weiss made a face at the word and Ruby awkwardly nodded, knowing luck might not be on their side when Qrow was involved.

They snuck down the stairs and hid behind a pillar to observe the reception area that had a booth with a female receptionist in it and two guards on either side of the main entrance. There were two doors for restroom next to the booth. On a small waiting table, between a corner-seat, closest to them, was Qrow, still in bird-form, wrapped in the net, with what Ruby and Weiss could only assume was a tranquilizer dart sticking out of his back.

"Could one of you move that filthy creature from that table, please!" the receptionist, seemingly in her late middle-age, told the guards. "Guests wait there." she pointed out.

"They'll pick it up, soon. A few more minutes won't make a difference." One of the guards shrugged. The receptionist sighed and reached for her mug, but knocked it over, spilling its coffee-like contents on the table and getting some on her blouse.

"Urgh!" she growled and stood. "Well, if you're not going to move it, then call someone to clean this up, at least! I have to go to the restroom." she told them and left the booth to enter the lady's room.

"Hh. Fine." One of the guards sighed and moved inside the booth to use the phone in it. Weiss turned to Ruby.

"Get ready." she told her and made a black glyph appear on the doors of the entrance, behind the one guard that was left. She gave the door a shake, making it sound as if someone wanted to enter.

"That must be them." The guard commented and turned towards the door, as a red blur swept up the captured bird, from the table and was gone in the next second. Ruby made it back to Weiss as the guard opened the door.

"Hey, those guys were pretty fast this time." They heard the guard say.

"What are you talking about? No one's here, yet." A different voice, one of the outside guards said.

"Then why'd you knock?" came the question, but Ruby and Weiss did not wait to listen to them.

"We didn't knock." The fading conversation continued as they ascended the stairs to move back the way they came or they would have if they did not hear the sound of footsteps and more voices.

"I swear mast'ah Whitley thoroughly enjoys calling for us for every speck of dust he finds in his room." An older man's voice was coming from the hallway. Weiss and Ruby had no choice but to go a floor above.

"If we're lucky he left and won't even be in his room. It is much more uncomfortable when he sits there watching you." A woman's voice replied and they were coming up the stairs, by the sound of it, as Weiss listened from the entrance of the hallway. She could also hear someone's footsteps coming from the hallway and pulled on Ruby, having no choice but to go to the third floor, knowing that if they ran into someone up there, they would be trapped, as all of their rooms were on that floor and the two staff members they overheard were also heading there. They had to get past the stairwell and find a spot to wait for them to pass.

The maid and servant reached the third floor and slowly entered the hallway. From behind a long curtain decorating the wall, Ruby and Weiss stepped out.

"I can't believe that worked." Weiss muttered as Ruby put Qrow, with the net still around him, into her hood, using it as a backpack. The weight pulled it down some and they could tell it would not hold if they moved around too much. "Turn around." Weiss whispered and pulled on two parts of the rope. "Put your arms through." she instructed Ruby, who followed it and the rope was securely clinging to her back. Weiss finished it by covering her small makeshift backpack with Ruby's cloak. "There." she smiled at the cleverly hidden package.

"Wow. Thanks." Ruby beamed at her.

"Now, let's get out of here." Weiss said and Ruby nodded. "Hh. I really didn't think I'd be back here so soon." Weiss commented with a sigh, her smile gone and Ruby could tell she did not miss being back. "Come on." Weiss quietly said, nodding for Ruby to follow her. She stuck to the wall and carefully leaned out checking the hallway from right to left, as they were heading left.

"Why, hello." A familiar boy's voice made Weiss jump and she heard a yelp from Ruby, too, who turned to face the person whose quiet steps neither of them heard. Weiss was still out of sight and quickly stepped into the hallway to hide behind the corner and listened. "I don't believe I've had pleasure." It was definitely Whitley. "And who might you be?" he asked Ruby.

"Uh...um...yeah...hi. I'm...my name is...I mean, I'm Ruby. Hi." Ruby nervously fumbled her words.

"Ruby. What a lovely name. It certainly sounds familiar. My sister must have mentioned you. I'm Whitley." He did a small bow, placing a hand on his chest as he introduced himself. "Weiss' brother."

"Oh, y-yeah. Weiss talked about you." Ruby said, slightly uncomfortable under his prying gaze that seemed to be looking for signs of lies and secrets.

"Has she, now?" His polite tone certainly did not match the suspicion Ruby sensed from him. His question sounded as if he had more than a guess in what light Weiss mentioned him.

"Y-yeah...I'm, uh...trying to find her. I-Is she here?" Whitley raised a brow at her question. He was fully aware that Weiss had reunited with her friends and came to the Kingdom, which meant that Ruby was, therefore, only pretending to be looking for her.

"Of course!" Whitley played along and Weiss worriedly listened, knowing he was onto Ruby. "If you follow me back this way, I will take you to her." he offered and took a step towards the stairs. Weiss was sure he would lead her straight back to reception and to the guards.

"Uh, thanks, but...I-I think I...have to use the restroom!" Ruby exclaimed and took a long step towards the hallway. She broke into a run, grabbing Weiss and used her semblance to blitz through the hallway, disappearing behind the corner, at the end, going left. Whitley took a few quick steps to follow Ruby, but found an empty hallway. He frowned and took out his scroll, speed-dialing a number.

"This is Whitley. I wish to report a trespassing inside the estate. Specifically on the third floor. Please notify all guards." he calmly told the person on the other end. He hung up with a satisfied look. Weiss and Ruby were walking fast along the hallway, as running would have made more noise.

"So…your brother's kinda…um…" Ruby started.

"Please, don't say he's cute or something like that." Weiss awkwardly rolled her eyes.

"He's actually…kinda creepy." Ruby said. Weiss looked at her in surprise and was relieved.

"Oh." she faced forward. "Good." They rounded another corner to the left, coming to a halt in front of guard, in their haste.

"Hey! What are you-...! Miss Schnee!?" He was surprised to see her. "You're back? Your father told us you refused to return with him."

"Well, I've...changed my mind." Weiss said. "We'll go to his office, right now. Don't worry."

"I'll take you to him." he replied.

"Oh, there's no need." Weiss waved a hand.

"We have his orders to escort you to him, as soon as you're on the premises." The guard insisted. "Hold on..." he touched his comm-link and listened. Weiss exchanged a worried look with Ruby. He was briefly surprised at what he was hearing, then reached for his weapon. "Don't move!" His tone changed as he took out his rifle. "You're coming with me." he told them and both took a small step backwards. "No sudden m-..." His warning was cut short by Ruby's boot in his shin that hurt even through the armor. "Oww!" As he got on one foot to grab the hurt spot he leaned right into a punch from Ruby, who jumped to connect with his jaw. He spun halfway around and was laid unconscious on the floor. Weiss stared at the guard, then at Ruby, who looked surprised, apologetic, but also excited that her hand-to-hand training was paying off. A year ago, she would have been ineffectually flailing her fists at someone's torso.

"Uh, sorry..." she sheepishly smiled.

"Someone has to be." Weiss replied, glancing at the guard, not feeling any sympathy for someone on his father's payroll. "Come on." She started down the hallway. "My room is this way." she added and Ruby got intrigued. Weiss led her to a door, in the middle of the hallway. "In here." She attempted to open it, but it was locked. "Darn it!" Weiss stepped back and pointed at the lock. A black glyph appeared around the door-knob that began to constrict as Weiss concentrated. After only a few seconds of struggle, the knob broke and the door could be opened. Weiss pushed it inside and Ruby quickly followed her. Whitley leisurely rounded the corner to see his sister's door being shut and regarded the knocked-out guard with a somewhat unsurprised frown.

"We have to hurry, before the guards find us." Weiss said as Ruby stopped to briefly gape at her luxurious room. "Ruby?" Weiss turned when she heard no response and saw Ruby was uncomfortably fidgeting. "What's wrong?" Weiss asked.

"I...actually have to use the restroom." Ruby awkwardly told her and Weiss stared, then hung her head with a sigh.

"Through that door." Without even raising her head she pointed to her own bathroom. "Go! Hurry!" she added and Ruby bolted as Weiss shook her head, but could not help a small smile. While Ruby was busy inside, she pushed her vanity table and every piece of furniture she could to barricade the door. After moving all she could, she noticed part of the wall and window her summoning destroyed was taped off for renovation and was partially restored. Only a minute or two had passed since they made it in. She barely had time to ponder the room that almost became her prison, when there was a banging on the door. Another came and the guards were apparently not waiting for a response.

"Break it down!" Weiss heard a guard say and they started ramming the door, with their shoulders, as Whitley looked on with amusement and satisfaction, hands behind his back. The sound of flushing and a tap running came and Ruby exited the bathroom, a few seconds later, hearing the banging.

"Whaddo we do!?" she worriedly asked and followed Weiss' eyes as she looked at the damaged wall. The whole in it was not large enough for either of them to fit through.

"What happened?" Ruby asked as another ram came.

"I was practicing." Weiss stated. "Do you still have any fire-dust?" she asked.

"Y-yeah." Ruby replied, unsure what Weiss wanted with it. Another ram.

"Good." Weiss drew Myrtenaster and spun its revolver to a fire-dust round that was still loaded in it. "We're going to blow it apart." she said.

"But...your room!" Ruby did not want to destroy anything. Weiss let out a sigh.

"Ruby..." A stronger ram came as Weiss lowered her head and slowly shook it. "I can't stand this place." she said and Ruby's mouth remained slightly agape at that confession. An even more violent ram came. "Ready?" Weiss asked and after a second of hesitation Ruby nodded, still looking like she was sorry for what she was going to do and how Weiss felt. The guards walking outside jumped at the large explosion that send debris falling into the garden below. They looked up to see a red and white blur flying out through the destroyed wall of the room they knew was Weiss'. It touched the ground and they saw the former heiress and an unfamiliar girl make a run for it.

"Hey!" The guards all reached for their weapons. "Stop right there!" One yelled and his mouth hung open as the other girl grabbed Weiss and the two became a blur, again, blowing past other guards, knocking them down and flew over the fence, easily escaping into the city. Yang watched them through her binoculars, as soon as they heard the explosion from the adjacent side of the building.

"Well...they made it out, at least." she stated with relief.

"Not exactly low profile." Winter commented and Yang shrugged, not really caring they made a scene.

...

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." Weiss wobbled on her feet, as she and Ruby stood in a narrow canal, behind neatly trimmed shrubs, on the other side of a street, some distance away from the estate.

"Well, you're gonna have to!" Ruby told her with a mischievous grin and Weiss raised a brow. "Because, I got some cool team-attacks for us!"

" _Of course_ you do." Weiss muttered, shaking her head with a small smile. She peered over the bushes to see the guards on the estate were not even trying to come after them and search the area, as it would have been fruitless, anyway and the probably figured as much.

"Weiss..." Ruby hesitantly started, suddenly more somber and Weiss turned to her. "Um...what you said..."

"Let's…not talk about that, right now. Okay?" Weiss uncomfortably told her and Ruby did not want to force the topic, seeing how it affected her. "Besides, you should see how your uncle's doing."

"Oh! That's right." Ruby remembered and kept turning, trying to take the net off of herself.

"Hold on..." Weiss said and grabbed her shoulders to make her face forward. She lifted Ruby's cloak to check on Qrow and saw he was slowly coming to. He slightly turned his head, making quiet noises. "He's still a little out of it. You should keep that on, until we get back." she referred to the net, as it was easier for Ruby to move that way and the latter nodded in agreement.

...

"Here they are." Yang stated as Weiss and Ruby made it back to them, after a few minutes.

"Mission accomplished!" Nora cheeringly exclaimed.

"I'm guessing there was a reason for your loud exit." Winter said.

"Lots of guards." Ruby stated.

"And Whitley." Weiss added and Winter's expression briefly darkened.

"And the latter led to the former, no doubt." Winter guessed he was responsible for alerting them.

"So, where's Qrow?" Oscar asked and got answered with a loud caw that came from Ruby. She stumbled as Qrow started thrashing around in panic, on her back and kept cawing, unable to see where he was or what was happening.

"Uncle Qrow! Calm down!" Ruby yelled as she struggled with the rope.

"Let me help." Ren offered and took his father's dagger out of his boot. Ruby stood still as he cut the bunched up rope that rolled down, freeing Qrow, who flapped to cushion his fall as he landed on the ground. He lied flat on his back in human-form and groaned.

"Why does it feel like I have a hangover?" he muttered.

"That shouldn't be anything new." Winter commented.

"I'm never goin' near that place, again!" Qrow sat up, resting his elbows on his knees.

"Did you get what we need?" Yang asked and he fished his scroll from his pocket.

"All here. Had to knock 'im out t' copy it from his scroll." he said, with no regret. "So, that was good."

"He'll definitely suspect us. But, it's inevitable at this point." Winter stated.

"Or he'll just think he blacked out." Qrow shrugged.

"Either way, he can't prove _anything_." Weiss said, certain of it.

"Maybe not. But, _we_ have to." Winter replied, referring to their plans to expose their father's dealings.

...

"We, as a kingdom of innovation and order have to ensure it is felt and sustained around Remnant." Ironwood was in the middle of addressing the rows of students in front, faculty members behind him, servicemen forming a wall and reporters outside of it, from a podium in the courtyard. "Admittedly, for the past few months, this was not what we've shown to the world. I, as the General of our forces and member of the Council am fully responsible for how our kingdom acts in the face of danger. I know many consider the events at Beacon Academy disgraceful and realize that what followed was not a measured response, but a shameful act of cowardice that abandoned the rest of world. A world we… **I** …swore to protect."

"What I should've done then, I will _now_. And in light of the threat we're facing, I call upon our people, our men and women, in and out of uniform and the future of our kingdom…" he looked at the students. "To _learn_ …like I have, that hubris and strength is not enough. Especially if we stand alone. As a friend often said, if the kingdoms want to speak, they will do so together or not at all. In that same vein, if we want our world to live, we have to…and we _will_ fight to protect it…together. A perfect example of that is the person who will speak after me. They have learned, as our kingdom will have to, what it has to leave in the past to truly develop. That prosperity isn't just wealth and power. And one kingdom, no matter how strong, shouldn't have monopoly on it. Our losses have shown us there isn't always victory in strength.

…

In the dark depths of the open sea, a submarine of strange design silently moved, aided by the currents, as it crept towards its unsuspecting destination. Its front, along with the first quarter of its body was a large drill that had several small ports at the tip if its spiral structure. On the vessel's bridge, Watts idly sat in his seat, one foot resting on his other leg's knee, elbows on the arm-rest, as he put his fingers together, in front of himself. Above them, on the moonlit surface of the calm waters, Atlesian ships passed, along with ones in the air, as well as a few submarine units, while the threat they were guarding their kingdom's borders from was making its way in, unnoticed. Watts looked pleased, yet, entirely unsurprised. He had been fully confident they could enter the kingdom undetected, as he told Salem. A seer floated over his shoulder, emitting a low, gentle hum as its orb glowed with a strangely calming light that one could be mesmerized by.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – In Not So Plain Sight

After Ironwood made his semester opening speech, which was a message not just to the new students, but to all of Atlas, Ghira took to the podium, shocking many, with the confirmation that the White Fang was lending its strength to their Kingdom, but more so, with the revelations that became the ideals he was in the middle of passing down, having followed up on what Ironwood said.

"That is why I can stand here, now, even after the atrocities of the past, on both sides. As General Ironwood correctly said, there is no true strength without the humility to not put ourselves above others. Without admitting failure or weakness and believing _only_ in one's own power. One _kingdom's_ power. And perpetuating the very same views that go against freedom. The same ones the Great War hoped to end. They talked about ideals, both before and after. They put it in law. Time and again. But, the world, as a whole, never truly stayed true to what it taught every generation to aspire to. Open and accepting minds with allegiance, not to any one kingdom, but to the world. It's time to give that world a chance! Thank you…for listening!" Ghira bowed and after a brief silence, applause erupted from every section of the courtyard and perhaps many simple did so out of manners, but it was a reception far better than what anyone, there, had expected. He stepped to the side, letting Ironwood take his place.

"And with that, ladies and gentleman, students and members of the faculty…it's time to start a new semester." he said and the students stood at attention, once more. "Until tomorrow…at ease." he added and walked to the faculty with Ghira, who was greeted by Blake, along with the students from Beacon and Haven. Members of the press were let through by the soldiers, a few at a time, to contain them. "Personally, I never deal with the press directly." he said to Ghira. "You're welcome to. You probably have more patience for them." he said and Ghira was already hearing them call his name. He stopped and turned, bracing himself for the torrent of questions, as uncomfortable as many of them would be. He was not the only one who got their attention, however. Weiss heard her name and she barely turned from the company of her friends, before microphones and recording devices were stuck in front of her. Ruby and the others remained quiet as they listened to the inevitable inquiries about Weiss' escape and return, but the latter did not feel obligated to answer any of them.

"Why did you break the law to leave the kingdom?"

"And why are you back, now? Is an attack really coming?"

"Can you tell us what happened in Mistral?"

"Who are all these people with you?" Ruby nervously leaned back as some of the reporters shoved their devices in her face.

"Sources in Mistral say you attended a gala together. Is that true?" Weiss' eyes widened and she exchanged a glance with Ruby, who looked confused, in her innocence. Fortunately their questions continued, one vanishing behind the next.

"What, exactly, were you doing in Mistral, prior to the attack on Haven Academy?"

"Is this simply a rebellious phase, like your father claims?" Weiss' eyes narrowed at that, then came the question she _had_ to answer.

"Can you personally confirm you no longer have claim to the Company, as he said?"

"I _have_ claim!" The reporters had to take a step back as Weiss took one forward. "I never passed it on, least of all to my brother! My father _lied_ when he said it was my decision! I didn't make it. And I _won't_. The Schnee Dust Company is still _mine_ to lead! Not my brother's and _not_ my father's, who only _took_ our name by marriage." His knuckles turned white as Jacque's grip tightened on the arms of his chair and his eyes shot daggers into the television set in his office as Weiss went on, losing control over her emotions. "A marriage he didn't even care about!" Winter's eyes widened. "Just the name he could _take_ from it!" She worried Weiss would say more than the newshounds had any right to hear, so she stepped in. "The only thing my father ever cared about was-…!" Winter put a hand in front of Weiss, who looked up at her in surprise, as the press was cut off from her.

"That's enough!" Winter shut the reporters down with a glare, which she then directed at Weiss, who realized she let her emotions get the better of her and looked at the ground. "We have to leave." She heard Winter add and kept glaring at the ground as she marched off, back towards the dormitories, not looking up to see Ruby and the others were giving her some worried looks.

Their heated exchange with the press was barely noticed in the cavalcade of the opening ceremony that continued with a live performance from a military band, in collaboration with all the musically gifted students from the academy. Even team FNKI wore their uniforms for their performance, while the press were temporarily dispersed by the soldiers, after managing to interview Ghira and those members of the faculty who were more tolerant of the media. Ironwood headed back to his office, after a few quick words with his colleagues about how the rest of the day would progress. Most of the wings were empty during the ceremony and for a while after.

"Man, it sure got quiet around here." One guard said to another as they walked down a corridor.

"I know. They should have a ceremony every day." the other joked.

"Feels like we might as well just keep our hands in a salute all day. No point in even putting them down, when someone passes every ten seconds. Is it always _this_ busy during the school year?" the first one asked, probably having been assigned recently.

"Only between classes. You'll get used to it." the other replied, waving it off and they rounded the corner, habitually raising their hands to salute someone passing by.

Ironwood sat at his desk, skimming field-reports from scouts that were annotated with pictures of locations, some of which showed scenes of destruction. Others were simply the regular check-ins from the patrols, none of which were reporting any unusual activity. A knock came on his door, once again bringing him out of the monotony of it all.

"Enter." he answered and a second later Qrow stepped in. He stopped in the door and saluted him.

"Knock it off." Ironwood told him, not amused by his acting and Qrow put his hand down, somewhat disappointed in his reaction, then closed the door behind him. He took a few slow steps inside and seemed to be gauging him.

"So...about the relic, General." Qrow started.

"What about it?" Ironwood asked, raising his brow some at Qrow's use of his title.

"You're sure…that no one can get to it?" Qrow asked.

"You saw where the chamber is." Ironwood replied, somewhat irritated Qrow still had doubts. "No one in the world has any way of getting that deep underground. And unless they can start digging from right here..." he pointed at the floor beneath them. "It'll take them forever to safely displace all that ground. They'd bury themselves long before they could get to it."

"What if they got one giant _mole_ Grimm?" Qrow shrugged with a small smirk, feeling like he should crack a joke with him, at that point.

"Even if they have something as massive as that Dragon, in Vale, to move underground for them, there are grids of defenses they'd need to get through. I made sure no one could simply tunnel their way in. And even if they do, I have one last measure I...have disclosed to anyone." Ironwood admitted, looking apprehensive.

"What's that?" Qrow innocently asked, not appearing too suspicious.

"As you _may_ know, there are still large untapped veins of dust deposits in those depths. Our researchers mapped their exact volume and density. They created simulations..." He paused, his face darkening some. "Predicting the force of an explosion, if something were to detonate those veins." Qrow's eyes went wide.

"You don't mean..." he started.

"It is a last resort. Mutually assured destruction, if all else fails." Ironwood grimly said. "If they don't bury themselves getting to the relic, then we'll make sure they don't leave with it."

"That's...crazy." Qrow muttered, seemingly unable to say anything else. Ironwood raised a brow.

"I half expected you'd grab me by my collar, at this point and tell me I'm out of my mind." he told him.

"Right." Qrow muttered, as if he forgot to do that. "And hit you, too?" he added.

"Or not, it seems." Ironwood looked relieved he did not.

"Ozpin would...probably shove that cane where the sun doesn't shine." Qrow came up with something to say.

"That's more like the response I expected." Ironwood was not even fazed by the crudeness of Qrow's comment and the latter almost looked surprised, then glad he was told that.

"Yeah, well...I didn't have enough to drink, yet." Qrow shrugged.

"And you don't really like the local taverns. What a shame." Ironwood pitied him, in jest, easing the already lifting tension further.

"I can see why you didn't tell anyone about it. Even your men would...freak out." Qrow understood.

"Exactly. Any oath of secrecy and agreements about non-disclosure wouldn't stop it from spreading. To the public, eventually." Ironwood predicted.

"Well, it's everyone's life on the line, if that thing blows. Everyone would run from the city, if they'd know." Qrow imagined.

"And the panic would bring the Grimm before the first person could even set food outside." Ironwood did not forget how Beacon and Vale were overrun, along with the other capitals.

"A win-win..." Qrow blurted out, but as Ironwood raised a brow he cleared his throat. "I mean for the enemy, obviously." he shrugged.

"Yes. They would probably come to the same conclusion." Ironwood said.

"Well, my lips are sealed." Qrow shrugged, turning to walk away, then stopped. "I hope you know what you're doing." he added, then opened the door to leave. Ironwood stood beside his table for a moment longer, then sat in his chair, looking in front of him, silently hoping he did. Out on the corridor, Qrow was somewhat exaggeratedly trudging along, weirdly smiling to himself and earning a few odd looks from passing guards.

"Wasn't that a friend of the General?" One asked the other.

"I think so." the other shrugged.

They moved out of sight as Qrow stopped in front of two separate doors that led to the rest-rooms for men and women. A male soldier came out from the men's room and was startled.

"Ma'am." he saluted and quickly moved on. The door to the women's restroom opened and who stepped in front of the mirror, was not Qrow, anymore. A uniformed Emerald let out a sigh and placed her hand to her temple. She could more easily affect several people, at once, with her semblance, now. However, maintaining an illusion over a single person, for an extended period, as she just did with Ironwood, still gave her a minor headache.

…

"This is a lot more than we hoped to find." Winter commented, standing next to Weiss' bed, as she finished sifting through the data Qrow transferred to her sister's scroll. She handed it back to Weiss, who was sitting on her bed. "Father of all people should know the risks of keeping such information on a single device, no matter how protected he thinks it is."

"Pretty sure James could tell 'im all about what can happen when someone starts thinkin' they're untouchable." Qrow said. "Gonna have a word with him, actually." he added and looked at Oscar, who was sitting next to Ruby and Yang. The latter had her arms folded. "Oz still under the weather?" Qrow asked and after a brief internal exchange Oscar nodded. Qrow sighed and turned to leave. "Well, have fun with that." he told them, nodding at the scroll in Weiss' hand and left.

"Whole-milk." Yang muttered to Oscar, jokingly.

"What?" he asked, slowly blinking, wide-eyed.

"Heh. Nothing." Yang smiled and looked at Ruby, certain her sister got the joke, but saw she was worriedly looking at Weiss, who was glaring at her scroll as she was trying to figure out how they could use the information they had. Yang did not need to hear her sister's thoughts to know she did not like seeing her friend so angry. It was even sadder than the look Ruby gave her, when she snapped at her and Weiss, back in Mistral. A person's darker side could be frightening, Yang learned that of others and of herself and knew that if she felt it, then Ruby had to be feeling it, too and even more.

"Weiss..." Ruby cautiously called out to her and waited until she looked up, her expression barely softened and it made Ruby slightly flinch. "What can we do?" Yet, she wanted nothing more than to help and pull her friend out of that dark place. Weiss' face finally lost some of its coldness as she wanted an answer for that herself.

"I don't know, yet." she replied.

"We need to devise a plan to make father and at least some of his business partners reveal information that can compromise their public image and consequently any further dealings with them by anyone." Winter said. "Problem is, we cannot possibly approach _every one_ of them."

"We just have to get a bunch of 'em in one place." Yang said. "It's gotta be where we stashed the relic." Oscar's eyes moved to the side, as he briefly listened to Ozpin.

"So you keep suggesting." Winter noted.

"Why there?" Oscar asked and Yang looked a little surprised he did.

"Well...because it's got the best security, right?" she turned to Winter. "Your dad and all his sleazy partners will think they're all safe in there." Yang explained part of the reason and for Oscar it sounded like a satisfactory response.

 _"Hmm. Miss Xiao Long seems adamant that we organize this meeting close to the relic."_ Ozpin thought, sounding suspicious of Yang's reasons.

"You said, before, they might say more than they would, if they didn't think they were being setup or anything." Yang told Winter.

"I did." Winter said. "But, for that we need to convince all parties of the meeting's legitimacy, which will require impersonating several of them to setup it up, including our father."

"Or..." Weiss stood. " _ **I**_ can be one party." she said and all looked surprised. "Every one of father's business partners heard what I said, by now. And some of them might offer me a partnership if they believe I can take his place. They'll probably think I will give them large shares of the company, in return. Or something like that." Weiss shrugged. "If even a few can turn on him, we can use them to give us what we need to ruin father."

"Well...one strategy _is_ to try and think like the enemy. And know what they'd want out of a situation." Winter said, commending Weiss for showing such shrewdness, but not without worry. "The question is...can you convince them you are stronger than him? For that, you would, first, have to be ruthless. And frankly, you're not. Nor would you ever want to be. Do you?" Winter asked, briefly glancing at Ruby and the rest. Weiss looked at them, too. Ruby's face, alone, was enough to remind her of who she was and who she should not be.

"No." Weiss replied, looking at the ground.

"Still, pretending may get you a long way with them." Winter said and Weiss looked up at her. "We don't have the luxury of many more options. Or of waiting." Winter added. With a determined look Weiss whipped around and opened her scroll to choose the people they would approach.

...

Qrow had half-a-mind of changing forms and comfortably flying all the way up to Ironwood's office and maybe even giving him a near heart-attack by jumping in through his window, as he was lackadaisically walking through the courtyard that was still filled with students. He saw that some reporters were still surrounding Ghira, assaulting him with questions, which the latter was still politely answering.

"They're still at it...?" Qrow thought out loud, shaking his head. He was in no rush, but he did not do well with crowds, either. He staggered forward from a shoulder-bump, as Yang passed him, striding along.

"Move it, old man!" she said, over her shoulder and Qrow frowned as Yang went to rejoin Blake.

"Hey." she made her presence known and Blake turned from watching her father.

"Hey." She stepped closer to Yang.

"He's still at it?" Yang asked, in both amazement and pity, as she would have felt exhausted just from listening to it all.

"Yes." Blake nodded, smiling at her father. "He really wants to explain himself to them." she said, then somewhat worriedly added "I just hope they don't try to twist anything he said."

Just then, one of the large microphones that was raised and held close above Ghira's head, gave out and broke. Blake and Yang looked on in surprise, along with Ghira, as the piece of equipment hung by the wires that were exposed inside the stick. An embarrassed sound-operator quickly rushed to take it down, giving the interview a pause as he fiddled with it and kept apologizing to Ghira and cursing at the equipment at the same time. Behind them, Qrow entered the main building, without even noticing or caring about the small commotion. "Uh..." Yang started, not wanting to even try and figure out if it was his semblance's doing. "So, did you talk to Ilia?" she asked Blake, instead, noting Qrow had left.

"I did." Blake's smile returned. "She said she's feeling a lot better and I can tell she really is. I didn't ask what happened. I didn't really need to." She looked towards where Ilia was standing, seemingly waiting for the band of students to pack up their instruments.

"Well, that's good." Yang commented. Blake slowly turned to her.

"Is…Weiss okay?" she asked, having seen her with the reporters.

"Oh, she's _scheming_ , so…I guess, she's not ticked off, anymore." Yang said.

"Scheming?" Blake raised a brow.

"I tell you over some noodles. Come on." Yang nudged her and Blake blinked in surprise at the offer.

"Okay." Then smiled, as she followed her. Remembering they have not done that since their time at Beacon. "W-wait!" Blake suddenly stopped. "I need to tell my dad. I don't want him to turn around and see I'm just gone."

"We'll bring him with us, then." Yang shrugged with a smirk.

"Huh?" Blake was even more surprised when Yang simply took her by the waist to walk up to Ghira.

…

Emerald slowly pushed the restroom's door open to see an empty corridor, but she could hear someone just passed by and she leaned out to see Qrow was walking towards Ironwood's office. She quickly checked for other people, again, before she stepped out, quietly closed the door of the women's restroom and opened the men's some.

"Qrow!" The latter turned when he heard Ironwood and turned to see as he seemingly shut the door of the restroom behind him. He raised a brow.

"Don't you have yer own restroom?" he asked.

"I was on my way back and needed to check something." Qrow made a weird face at.

"Everythin' in workin' order?" he smirked, then it vanished. "Nah, don't tell me!" he held up his hands.

"I wasn't going to. Were you…heading to my office just now?" Emerald had to make sure he did not. It would be too soon and they could suspect something was off, if Qrow suddenly did not remember the conversation she had with Ironwood, posing as him.

"Where else?" Qrow shrugged. "Wan'ed t' personally give ya an award fer that speech, out there. But yer gonna have t' share it with the Big Cat. And Oz is gonna want his." Emerald was not sure who he was referring to, before Ozpin, so she replied only to the last part.

"That…may be difficult." She knew that Ozpin was still around, in a way, at least. She stood by the window and looked out. Qrow joined him. "How..." Qrow heard him start and pause. "How does it work? This boy? And him?" Emerald was going to gather as much information as she possible could, in order to not fail.

"It just does." Qrow shrugged. "He can talk directly to us." he paused and let a pair of guards pass, even though all they could see was him talking to a woman and not the General. "Heh. It's weird." Qrow let out a laugh and smiled a little. "The kid turns int' a different person. His, like, 14 or somethin'. His voice didn't even break, yet, but when Oz is talkin' it's like he suddenly just skipped puberty."

"I...meant, how is it even possible?" Emerald did not want to go near that particular topic. "This reincarnation?" She learned of it from Salem. "And are there any...negative consequences to it?" She phrased it like she thought Ironwood would have. "I mean, the boy...has to grow up, first, before he can really fight or...run an academy, again." Emerald pretended to guess part of it, remembering that Ironwood never actually saw Oscar in action, so he would not know how capable he already was.

"Well..." Qrow started, but stopped, his face darkening. "He made Leo tuck tail and run, but...that's not really an accomplishment, if I'm being honest." he muttered. "Anyway, he's learnin' fast. He went frem no combat experience, except fer only a few scrapes with small Grimm, t' fightin' off a professional huntsmen. Gran'ed, it was Leo, but still." Qrow shrugged.

"How can he learn that fast?" Emerald had to know everything that could give them an edge.

"Oz said something 'bout inheritin' muscle-memory." Qrow used his words. "Apparently, that's a thing, when you _reincarnate_. But, they still got some ways t' go. The kid could've been killed in that fight, if Oz hadn't taken over. He overdid it and he still doesn't have enough strength to even talk t' us." Qrow explained Ozpin's current situation and Emerald definitely find it useful to know, giving Qrow a silent side-glance.

"Shame." Emerald had to say something.

"Yeah." Qrow muttered. "Anything on yer end?" He looked at Ironwood's motionless and expression face as he stared out the window, thinking nothing unusual about it. He turned his head to look at him, raising a brow, as Emerald tried to understand his question, without appearing out of character. "Any of yer soldiers saw anythin' out there? Like an army of Grimm marchin'...or swimmin' across the sea, t'wards us? Anythin' in the air? Like another giant dragon?" Qrow imagined the horde that might be heading their way.

"Nothing like that. It's been quiet." Emerald wanted to mention the lack of Grimm at the attack on Haven, but, given how even she was not sure if it was going to be the same at Atlas, she decided she would let Qrow and rest be on edge and to keep guessing what they would have to face.

"Well, it ain't like there was much warnin', b'fore Vale got run over, either." Qrow commented.

"Exactly." Ironwood replied. Qrow said exactly what she hoped he would, so she did not have to point it out as Ironwood. Their fears were not put to rest, but it was just as well. "Are the kids up to anything?" She thought to ask, after a few moments of silence and after another pair of guards passed. "Your nieces?"

"Well, it's like they said, they're gonna help the little Princess get her dear dad outta his place, so she can take over the business." Emerald looked surprised at that, but her illusion did not, fortunately. "They already had me steal his _itinerary_ " Qrow emphasized the word, mockingly. "But, you didn't hear that." he added.

"You broke into the Schnee's Estate?" Emerald asked, the thief in her a little impressed.

"I just told you, I didn't do nothin." Qrow smirked.

"And what exactly are they going to do with...that information?" Emerald certainly knew what _she_ was going to do with all of hers.

"Ring up a coupla businessmen and hope some of 'em will croak." Qrow said, gesturing with a hand. "Anyway…" he took a step away from him. "The kids told me about a nice little place in the Arts Wing. Gonna see if they make some drinks that have a kick." He took his flask out and pointed at him with it. "I'd empty yer bar, butchya might not take it too kindly. Catcha later, James." he added and sauntered away. Emerald looked at her reflection in the window and noticed the headache she felt was weaker than the one before.

...

Weiss sat on her bed, with her scroll placed on the edge. Ruby sat on hers and Winter stood by the window, facing them, with Klein standing across from her as several people talked through the scroll, some sounding mildly intrigued, others more interested, while a few were positively keen on forming a partnership with her.

"We'll consider your offer, Miss Schnee." One voice, that of a woman's, spoke. "It is always invigorating to see new blood, a fresh face and a woman's, at that, in this male-dominated business-world. You, my dear, may gain much from this. As will any of us." she said and Weiss could not decide if her tone was sincere or sinister.

"Well, us, men, will endeavor to be as much of a help, here, I assure you!" A man's voice was quick to represent the large majority of them.

"Until we meet, Miss Schnee." The woman spoke, again and everyone else signed off. Weiss picked up her scroll and turned it off.

"Well...some of them sounded...nice." Ruby spoke, as a few did come across as people who genuinely wished to see Weiss succeed and take her rightful place from who they also believed have tarnished the Schnee name.

"A few of them may not even be targets." Winter said, agreeing with her. "There are obviously some who aren't like father. But, in order to keep their businesses alive, they have to maintain relations and appearances."

"You're never alone, dear." Klein told Weiss. "There are always good people, even in the most unlikely of places. You merely have to find them." Weiss smiled and looked at the scroll in her hand.

"I never thought I'd use the _conference-call_ function on this." she said. "I suppose I should get used to it." she added, thinking of how she might have to use it a lot more, once she takes over the company.

"Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren't you." Winter commented and Weiss looked at her in surprise, then gave her a small glare for raining on her good mood.

"Oi!" A red eyed Klein took a step towards Winter, pointing a finger at her. "She don't need that frem ya." But, Winter was mostly unfazed.

"I'm sorry, but even if... _when_ you succeed..." she turned to Weiss. "It will still be some time before you'll be a proper businesswoman." Winter told her, then something occurred to her. "How _will you_ balance that with your duty as a huntress, I wonder." she added.

"Now who's gettin' ahead o' 'emselves?" Klein, still red-eyed, pointed out, protectively and Winter sighed, looking away, admitting he had a point, but it gave Weiss even more to think about. She knew, of course, that she would, first, have to focus on what was in front of her. Weiss looked at Ruby, who smiled as she was glad to see things were looking promising, at least.

...

"You really got nothin' you can spike this with?" Qrow indicated the disappointingly non-alcoholic drink he was served by Neon, who disapprovingly shook her head.

"It's a _buffet_ not a _bar_." Yang told him, sitting at another table with Blake, Ghira and Ilia, while team SSSN sat at the table next to theirs. "None of us drink…yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry...!" Qrow started. "Thought you were an adult, now." he snidely said and got a light whack on the head with the tray Neon was carrying.

"We're students, here, Mister Grown Man!" she told him as Qrow blinked in surprise. Yang burst out laughing, over her own drink, as Neon skated back to them. She leaned next to Ilia. "You haven't ordered, yet." she reminded.

"I-it's okay. I'm good." Ilia replied, somewhat shyly.

"Oh, I get it. You're just here for the company." Neon nudged her with a small giggle and winked. "How about the same as this morning?" she asked.

"S-sure." Ilia nodded and Neon whooshed away, leaving a rainbow trail.

"This morning?" She turned to Blake, at the latter's question, to see she was giving her a curious smile.

"Uh..." Ilia averted her eyes to stare into her lap, feeling her cheeks flush, but she could manage not to turn pink, in her freckles, this time. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm glad you're okay." Blake told her, warmly and Ilia smiled to herself.

"Y'all better let lose, like there's no t'morrow!" Flint walked up to them, with a smirk, twirling his instrument and weapon in one hand. "'Cause foh all we know, there might not be a t'morrow." he said.

"A doomsayer doesn't tell people to _party_." Neptune pointed out to him.

"Phh. It's better than a _soothsayer_ , who tells everyone t' give 'em all their money, _b'fore_ doomsday." Qrow commented.

"Uh…who's the old crow, again?" Flint asked the tables and Qrow raised the brow at the adjective.

"He's my _uncle_ Qrow." Yang told him.

"Ain't he the guy who got into a tussle with the oth'ah Schnee, back at yo'r school?" K recalled.

"Yep." Yang nodded.

"He got some moves for an old guy." Flint smirked.

"Hey! This _old_ guy got ears, too!" Qrow said. "Not hearin' any o' ya callin' _him_ old." He nodded at Ghira.

"'Cause he's cuddly, unlike _you_!" Yang smirked at Qrow and Ghira stared, wide-eyed, at her. Blake suppressed a laugh.

"Tch." Qrow rolled his eyes.

"Yeah. You'd probably break if he gave you a bear-hug. Skinny!" Yang trash-talked him.

"Okay!" Qrow slammed his hands on the table and stood. "That's it! Come on, then, Fire-cracker! Let's see how tough you are! Show me what yer dad taught ya!" he said, goading her to come and fight him.

"Woah! Hey, I was just messin' around." Yang held up her hand.

"Whatsa matter? Afraid this _old_ guy'll mop the floor with ya?" Qrow gave the push Yang needed. She narrowed her eyes and stood, accepting his challenge.

"Yang!" Blake called after her as she walked around their table.

"Heh-heh." Qrow let out a quiet laugh, actually enjoying the moment and moved backwards, to a more open area, where there were no tables.

"Will this end badly?" Ghira asked, but Blake could not answer.

 _"Uh…will it?"_ Oscar asked Ozpin, with some worry.

 _"It should be interesting."_ Ozpin was more curious than concerned, not exactly reassuring Oscar.

...

The room was quickly filled with bystanders who all came rushing in to see the melee that broke out, barely leaving enough room for an excited Ruby to squeeze herself through, while grinning from ear to ear. Weiss made her way through and to her side, arms folded.

"Of course you're excited." Weiss said. Winter stayed behind the crowd, not wanting to push her way through them all.

"Gettim, sis!" Ruby cheered and Qrow briefly turned her way, arms spread as he shrugged.

"Hey!" He was offended Ruby did not cheer for _him_ and swatted Yang's punch down, leaning away from others that followed.

"Oh, uh, get'er, Uncle Qrow!" Ruby cheered.

"Hey!" Yang turned to her the same way Qrow did, then also batted Qrow's fists away.

"Sorry…!" Ruby sheepishly grinned, as she really did not want to root for one more than the other.

Yang was throwing hooks and jabs, all of which Qrow dodged, blocked and countered with his own for another full minute.

"Didn't really think…all those bars fight…counted for anything." Yang told him between weaves and counters. Qrow stepped to the side as he grabbed her wrist to stop a punch, tripped her with a foot, using her own momentum against her, then with one hand still grabbing onto hers, he pushed the back of her head with the other, causing her to fall, but immediately roll on her feet, somewhat frustrated.

"Heh. I coulda written a whole _book_ on moves they don't teach you in school." Qrow boasted, not as short on breath as Yang appeared to be. She stood, eyes turning red and Qrow raised a brow in amusement. Yang noticed it and that she was losing her cool. She exhaled and closed her eyes for a second and her blue-eyes did not even widen in surprise as she immediately leaned away from Qrow's swing, figuring he would not give her time, same as her dad. She pretended to duck and turn into a hook from the right, but stayed low and did a quick reverse sweep with her left leg, tripping Qrow forward, who was already leaning into another swing. To Yang's surprise, Qrow briefly balanced himself with one hand planted on the ground and the other on her own knee that she put her weight on at the end of her leg-sweep. He pushed off from the ground, taking a moment to throw her a smirk and landed behind her, then, as she was still crouching, he lightly shoved her with his foot to her butt, just enough to make her fall forward, her eyes going wide from the rude contact. She turned around, propped on her elbows, getting red in the cheeks and glared at him as he was chuckling with his arms folded. "Didn't Oz tell the lot o' ya, thatcha can't always have yer weapons? That a pro huntsmen can't ignore their hands _or_ their feet?"

"But, my weapons _are_ my hand and feet." Yang argued.

"Yeah, 'cause ye'r like yer old man. You don't use anythin' else, to begin with. Others do. But, even they have t' learn t' fight and _move_ without 'em." Qrow emphasized mobility and Yang understood he was saying she should not have been surprised that, despite his usual fighting-style, he could adapt to hand-to-hand combat and, despite his age, he could still move more nimbly than she assumed, when he really wanted to. She slightly turned her head away, looking at the ground with a frown. Ruby was looking at her sister sympathetically, sad that she lost.

"I can…sort of see how he was a teacher." Weiss commented on Qrow, still not quite able to picture him with a class.

"Heh. Believe or not, even Pete could bust some moves, back in the day." Qrow told Yang to get her to lose her saltiness, as he walked to her. It seemed to soften her expression, making her raise a brow.

"Professor Port?" she asked, incredulous.

"Yep." Qrow extended a hand to help pull her up and Yang took it. She briefly paused and Qrow saw a mischievous glint in her eye. He slightly narrowed his, challengingly. And Yang decided against pulling any more stunts on him, as Qrow suspected she would have. He pulled Yang to her feet and she somewhat awkwardly gave her rear a quick dusting-off. Qrow chuckled, again, and she punched him in the arm.

"Now, I really need a drink!" Qrow exclaimed. "It's gonna have t' be James' stash, after all." he added.

"Still too old to hang with us, huh?" Yang teased and Qrow let out a _'hmph'_ as Ruby walked up to them, with Weiss a step behind.

"That was awesome!" Ruby bounced. Seeing that the fight was over, the crowd of onlookers started to disperse and walked around Winter, who approached the four.

"Starting a fight definitely runs in the family for all of you." Weiss said, getting used to it.

"It is a miracle nothing was destroyed." Winter commented, stopping in front of them.

"Heh. Look who's talkin'!" Qrow said. "You got part o' the courtyard and a whole arch, back in Vale. All I got was a lamppost. Ye'r not exactly Miss Subtle."

"You forgot the two Atlesian Knights you started with." Winter reminded him.

"Meh, those don't count." Qrow waved it off. "Ain't that their whole point?" He referred to how Atlas aimed to replace soldiers with their robotics to put less and less actual lives in harm's way. Winter gave him a mild glare.

"You two need to work on your truce!" Yang said and made a megaphone with her hands. "Hey, can we get some drinks, here!" she shouted to Neon and whoever was tending the buffet.

"I'll pass." Winter quickly declined.

"No, you won't!" Yang told her, grabbing Qrow by the arm and turned him around, towards the table he was sitting at by himself earlier. "You're gonna sit down!" she added and Winter was startled as Ruby started pushing her along from behind, snickering, much to Weiss' amusement.

"This is unnecessary." Winter protested, though she was not really trying to fight it, as she could have easily planted her feet and stopped Ruby from pushing her.

"What she said!" Qrow told them, as they were led to their seats.

"See! You're already agreeing on something." Yang yanked on him, but as with Winter, it was more Qrow's own willingness not to really fight it that made him sit. Winter threw a small side-glare at a smiling Ruby behind her and sat. Weiss sat across from Winter and Ruby across from Qrow as Yang went back to Blake's side. "There we go!" she said with satisfaction and sat. Winter and Qrow looked at each other, one mirroring the others lack of enthusiasm and they both sighed.

…

In the depths of the sea, Watt's submarine crept closer to its destination. Mercury was lying back in a couch, looking fed up.

"Should've gone in that pod, instead." he was saying to himself, regretting his recent life choices. "Got to land and got the hell away from this crap."

"Sounds like you've lost your sense of purpose." Hazel, who was sitting on the couch adjacent from him, with a low-table between them, told him.

"Tch. _Purpose_?" he laughed at the word. "I was just along for the ride and it _paid_ good. But, now, my boss got benched, again and I'm stuck, here, just waitin' for this thing to turn into another mess!"

"Your _boss_?" Hazel repeated. "You don't seem to understand the roles."

"Yeah, yeah. Your boss is my boss' boss. So, what? I want nothing to do with that witch." Mercury suddenly gasped for air, in pain, as Hazel's large hand tightened around his throat, in an instant. Mercury struggled, kicking Hazel, who appeared disturbingly calm as he choked the life out of him. He could not even fight back anymore, as he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. Hazel let go and he fell back on the couch, able to breathe, again. He coughed as Hazel sat back.

"We all live, because we are of use to her. We are privileged to still live, despite laying eyes on her; to walk on the same ground and to know her." Hazel, Watts and Tyrian, off all people, understood that Salem, given her own ambitions, could have had them devoured by her creatures or quickly snuffed their candles out herself, as she worked her way towards bringing an end to mankind's existence. Instead, she took them and made their purpose for living - revenge, devotion, invention - serve a far larger goal than the sum of their desires. "Your irreverence is tolerated, because it's not my purpose to kill you." Hazel told him, letting Mercury consider his words and his choices in the dead silence that followed, then frowned, looking away. And their submarine moved on, in the quiet darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7 – No Victory in Strength

The sun had already risen above the cloudless horizon of the grey capital that had learned to substitute it and its best efforts to warm it, using the mind, body and soul of people whose purpose was pure, but whose vision was sadly lost to time and to the apathetic and selfish aspirations of others, making the rigid center of ingenuity triumphant over nature, but ironically largely devoid of its colorful, inspiring splendor.

Ironwood's door to his office opened and he stepped inside to find Qrow casually pouring a glass for himself from his drinking cabinet.

"Hey." Qrow acknowledged, throwing him a glance.

"How did you even get in here?" Ironwood was not even upset. "Wait...don't tell me. I don't want to know." he reconsidered." He walked to his desk, turned on the displays and was silent for a moment, as Qrow drank. "You obviously picked up certain skills...during your time with your tribe." He turned to Ironwood, with a raised brow.

"Why does everyone think a bandit is like a burglar? Bandits don't really bother pickin' locks, ya know. They kick the door until it gives." he spoke from experience. "I _can_ pick a lock, sure, but that's incidental. Windows were easier fer me, anyway. Even b'fore I..." he stopped as he almost said he could fly and Ironwood did not know about the ability Ozpin had bestowed upon him. "Never mind." he tied it off, turning away.

"I've been meaning to ask, since yesterday..." Ironwood started and Qrow looked at him, again. "When you attended Beacon and when you started working for Ozpin...did he know...the kind of background you came from?" Qrow slightly narrowed his eyes, unsure if Ironwood was questioning Ozpin's judge of character and looked out the window.

"Maybe." he said. "Even if he did, he never said anythin'." he shrugged. "It didn't matter t' him, 'cause he didn't see that. He saw somethin'...better in me. Not sure what?" he let out a somewhat self-deprecating laugh. "But, he thought I could be somethin' better." He was silent for a few moments and so was Ironwood as he reflected on his own relationship with Ozpin and how he became one of his few confidants.

"Maybe he could see something in everyone that even they couldn't see in themselves." Ironwood spoke. "Even in a bandit." Qrow gave him a side-glance. "Or a soldier, too proud and certain of himself..." he held and flexed his cybernetic prosthetic in front of himself. "To a fault." He recalled how he came close to death and how he remained far too arrogant to see the folly in believing in his own invincibility and infallibility. And that of his military. Even after Ozpin deemed him worthy of becoming an ally to his true cause. Qrow was a little surprised he had his own doubts about what Ozpin saw in him. His speech at the opening ceremony was an admission.

Alerts sounded and Ironwood's holo-screen popped up, even before they heard the rushed footsteps outside the door that broke the somber silence of the room. They stopped and a loud knocking came, as Ironwood's screen kept flashing red. A male officer stepped in, without waiting for a response, but Ironwood quickly forgot about his manners, considering the situation.

"Sir, we have possible enemy contact!" he told him and Ironwood went around his desk to follow him out of his office, along with Qrow, who took out his scroll.

...

Winter pulled on her sleeveless coat and headed for the open door to leave their room, when Ruby came bouncing to a halt a few steps inside, followed by Yang, who stopped in the door.

"Guys! Uncle Qrow just called!" Ruby exclaimed.

"He said the General's ships are in a stand-off with some weird-looking sub, off the coast." Yang explained what little they knew.

"A submarine? _Alone_?" Ghira raised a brow, finding it extremely unusual.

"That cannot possibly be their attack force." Winter said. "It's either some smuggler's vessel or it has to be a diversion. And if it _is_ the same enemy, I highly doubt they would send someone forward to negotiate with the military."

"Not _these_ guys." Yang agreed.

"I'll tell Jaune and the others!" Ruby exclaimed and ran off.

"I'll tell Sun and his team." Blake said and hurriedly walked after her.

"Have they sent a transport for us?" Ghira asked Yang.

"No." Yang shook her head. "And I don't think they're gonna. Maybe the General thinks we should stay and protect the school, anyway. So that's the plan, if you want one." She shrugged, then they heard the sound of a revolver spinning and locking into place as Weiss walked up with Myrtenaster drawn and at the ready. "Looks like we're not gonna be going after your dad, yet." Yang told her. "We've got bigger fish to fry."

"He can wait." Weiss stated, looking at Winter and knowing they had far larger immediate concerns than her family feud.

...

"Unidentified vessel, this is your last warning!" The captain of an Atlesian submarine was saying on an open channel, but was not getting any response from Watts, who watched the seemingly endless rows of subs and smaller, unmanned, robotic attack units that motionlessly formed a wall at the last few kilometers from the continent. The true line of defense, as he was disappointed to find out, but not dissuaded, in the least, from attempting to pass through.

"I'll take it from here, Captain." Ironwood's voice came on and his face showed on the monitor, from a feed in the war room at their headquarters. Through the live-feed of the units, they could actually see the situation.

"Sir!" The captain saluted, relinquishing command of the situation and Watts was, now, listening to Ironwood's voice.

"This is General Ironwood of the Atlesian military. I don't know exactly who you are. But, I know who you're working _for_." Ironwood meaningfully told him and Watts could hear it in his voice and could feel his glare. "You've only managed to evade our scouts, so far. Entering our kingdom won't be as simple as you probably thought. You won't have the same advantage you had in Vale. But, you won't have to worry about that. And you won't be given any more warnings, either. All units, open fire, immediately!" Ironwood ordered, not giving them any chance to maneuver to safety.

"Yes Sir!" Came the responses from all captains, before every one of their subs began launching whole volleys of torpedoes that converged on Watts' vessel. They braced for the shockwaves the explosions released that shook their ships and waited for the boiling water to calm and clear, the tension in all of them momentarily vanishing, before it returned through shock. "Impossible!" Ironwood heard the same captain exclaim. Through their thick windows and cameras, through which Ironwood was also watching, they could see the lone sub was completely unharmed. An electric field, projected by hundreds of coils carefully concealed in the otherwise insulated sub's hull, flickered around it, as if it had an aura of its own. The water channeled the energy farther out, causing the torpedoes to detonate, as it propagated, before any of them could even come close to hitting their target.

"Damn...!" Qrow muttered as Ironwood slammed his fists on the control panel, almost sneering. He and Qrow raised their heads when an accented voice came on.

"No mo' wa'hnings, you say?" Watts asked, in a somewhat mocking tone. "Very well, General. If that is how you prefe'hr it." he added, glancing at the Seer and its orb began glowing brighter. In the blackness of the crushing depths behind their vessel, something stirred, emitting a guttural noise all the sonars picked up. Then to the horror of every captain and personnel who was able to witness it, a pair of large, narrow, glowing eyes opened, dwarfing the lone vessel it had trailed behind, with just the size of its eyes.

"By the...gods..." A different captain whispered.

"W-what...what is that!?" Another asked, his voice shaking from fear that quickly beset all of them.

"What the hell...?" Qrow whispered.

"Fire..." they heard a whimper, then a scream. "Fire, damn it! Open fire now!" All captains began panicking. All units fired, again, but before their attacks could hit the vessel or the monster behind it, the Leviathan launched forward, swallowing Watts's vessel. It swam, charging through the barrage, towards the wall of units, the explosions doing little more than scratching and singeing its thick scales as they hit its body and even its face.

"OH, GODS!" came the screams through the communicator. "WHAT THE HELL IS THAT!?

"DIVE! DIVE, DAMN IT!"

"EVASIVE MANEUV-AAHHHHH!

"WE'RE GOING TO D-...!"

Ironwood, Qrow, along with those in the war-room could do nothing but listen to the final moments of all those men and women, powerless to stop the massacre.

"This is the end..." A whimpering voice said, not in any way resigned to their fate, but unable to do anything about it and dozens more could be heard, over one another, all ending in static. There would have been hundreds more, if Ironwood had not slammed a cybernetic fist down on the panel, silencing the device. He gritted his teeth, shaking from anger and leaned on the panel, barely able to stand. His eyes wavered and he shut them tight.

"My men..." he whispered, full of remorse and guilt as shock and terror filled the room. No one dared to say a word, even to just prompt him to say something. It took several long moments before Ironwood took a deep breath, slowly exhaled, composing himself and turned to a communications officers, raising his voice. "Contact all units and tell them we're on high alert! And stay ahead of the news! We can't let this leak to the media and the public!" Ironwood ordered.

"Yes, Sir!" came the affirmative from several officers who all began issuing additional orders, as per protocol, for the patrols, city and campus guards, plus the faculty.

"We need to prepare for an imminent attack!" Ironwood looked at Qrow.

"The kids already know." Qrow held up his scroll.

"Good." Ironwood nodded. "The faculty will make the announcement to the students. Classes will resume, but they'll be ready to defend the academy grounds, along with my men." He was then hit, again, by the sudden deaths and leaned back, putting a hand to the metallic implant on his temple, as he was shaken, feeling almost nauseous.

"Easy...James." Qrow put a hand on his shoulder and Ironwood slowly shook his head, in disbelief.

"Have you _ever_ seen _anything_ like this?" Ironwood asked, nearly horrified.

"I told you I've seen the things she's made. But, never anythin' _this_ big." Qrow admitted.

"It has begun." Ironwood narrowed his eyes as he stared ahead.

...

"Whaddoyou mean that's all?" Yang was talking with Qrow on her scroll. "W-where'd they go?" she wanted more information than what they actually had and Qrow told her as much. "Okay. Fine. I'll them." she replied. "Yeah. Okay." she finished and hung up. She turned to the others with a grave face.

"What happened?" Ruby asked, afraid of the answer.

"It's bad, isn't it?" Blake could tell and Yang gave a slow nod.

...

The great beast of the sea stopped its merciless rampage and the currents caused by its larger than titanic body abated, letting the drifting wrecks soundlessly collide with and bounce off of its virtually unscathed scale-armor. Once it was clear of the cluster of destroyed vessels, it opened its mouth, letting Watts' sub go free. The latter sat at its helm, tightly strapped in and unbuckled himself. Behind him, Hazel and Mercury were both secured in seats, as well, from which the latter quickly released himself.

"Didn't enjoy the ride?" Watts saw he was less than thrilled with their latest stunt.

"Shut up." Mercury glared at him.

"And I thought you were having fun. You know, I had a spare pod, but I haven't brought it along. I was convinced you wouldn't want to travel separately from us, since you liked our company so much." Mercury gritted his teeth with a growl.

"Arthur, enough." Hazel stood, after unfastening himself. "Call the girl." he told him.

"Righty-o…" Watts sighed and tried to raise Emerald on their comm-link, since they were close enough to reach her, coming into range to use the CCT network.

Emerald was standing near a vending machine, in what appeared to be a small empty diner, close to the academy, from where she could see if there was any commotion she could take advantage of. She stepped outside, through the kitchen, into an alley.

"Finally. Took you long enough." she muttered, as a greeting. "I have what we need." she added.

"Excellent." Watts replied, on the other end. "And quite timely. Well done, my dear."

" _Don't_ call me that." Emerald muttered in annoyance, recalling how he always got under Cinder's skin with it.

"Did you enjoy your flight?" Watts inquired, as a narrow, winged-pod and the trail it left on the ground, near the city, was already covered by snow, where it landed from its express flight. A number of dark orbs, all split in half, littered the ground near it, slowly dissolving under the white blanket, undetected by anyone. "I hope my invention took you there without the discomfe'ht of commeh'cial flying."

"It was _claustrophobic_." Emerald exaggerated to not praise him in any way.

"Hm." Watts found her attitude amusing, feeling as if he was still teasing Cinder.

"Now, do you wanna hear what I know or not?" Emerald asked. Watts looked at his panel and pressed a button that likely started a recorder.

"Go ahead." he told her.

…

Team RWBY, ORNJ, SSSN, Winter, Ghira and Ilia were all in the entry hall of the main building, waiting for class to be over to see how the students, guards and the faculty were reacting, after Yang told everyone what happened at sea. Recess came soon and the halls started to fill with calm, collected cadets, already carrying their weapons and so were the teachers.

"Yo!" Yang and the rest saw the whole of team FNKI approaching them with Flint in the lead. Their fourth member was a tall man with short, slightly curly dark-hair, pale-blue eyes, narrow face and a fair complexion. He wore dark-blue dress pants and a matching shirt with a black vest over it and he carried a violin-case that was most likely also his weapon. "Folks, Isaiah." Flint introduced him, as he stood behind them. "I, everyone." he added and they exchanged nods.

"So, you guys heard, right?" Yang asked.

"Heard there was an attack. Sure. Don't know much else." Flint said.

"You _had_ teh jinx us, man." K told Flint, referring to yesterday's exchange.

"P-r-e-e-tty sure that's not _his_ semblance." Yang commented.

"Really?" They heard Qrow and looked to see him coming down the stairs with Ironwood. "Ye're gonna take shots, when I ain't even around?" Qrow put a finger in front of his mouth, with a small glare, telling Yang not to say too much, who got the message.

"General." Flint straightened up, taking his fedora off. "We're ready teh to fight, Sir." he told him. There was a reason team FNKI made it to the Vytal Festival Tournament and Ironwood knew, especially after he saw them stay to defend Beacon, he could rely on them to do what was needed of them and more.

"I know you are." Ironwood appreciatively nodded at their collectedness. He looked at Oscar, as if wanting to ask Ozpin something, but he could not, in front of team FNKI. "I…wish I'd know why this was even necessary. Our…enemy…" He did not want to name Salem. "Has never done anything without a reason, not even if it was just to prove a point." he said.

" _James is correct."_ Oscar heard Ozpin. _"This wasn't merely a show of force. Salem isn't prone to such displays. There is a reason why her followers decided to attack so openly. Mostly likely they were gauging the kingdom's defenses, but also…they may be hoping to cause panic, eventually."_

"Uh…" Oscar rephrased all of that, before he spoke. "Maybe…they were trying to see how well Atlas can defend itself. And…see if…they could make people…scared." Ironwood understood it was coming from Ozpin, but did not doubt Oscar could deduce as much, on his own, as could the others.

"Smart boy." Neon folded her arms and Oscar looked away with an embarrassed face, as she giggled.

"The people _will_ eventually hear." Ghira agreed.

"Even in this place, they can't keep a full lid on things." Qrow commented. "Someone'll say somethin' and it'll _snowball_."

"He's right." Weiss spoke. "The press already knew about…" she glanced at Ruby. "The gala."

"And that was a little over a week ago." Ironwood said. "Information gets in within a day, from our scouts and here…the media will be tipped off even faster."

"All it takes is fer one person to start a rumor." Qrow said. "And as much as you hate hearin' it, it'll be one of yer soldiers. 'Cause no one else knows. Not even the faculty know the details. Or the students." he looked at team FNKI.

"Gossip is just another weapon." Winter mused.

…

A group of office workers were enjoying some quick breakfast in the lounge of their workplace, casually chatting about the latest news and discussing the semester. Some appeared to have children who went to the academy, judging by their conversations. There were armed guards inside and soldiers patrolling the street below. A small group of people were talking around a water-cooler, when they were approached by an unfamiliar woman with red eyes and green hair, who was dressed like a secretary. She started filling a plastic cup for herself, with her back to them.

"Hey, has anyone heard anything about the attack that just happened?" she asked, sounding unsure and worried.

"Attack? What do you mean an attack?" One man asked, in surprise and could not see the devious smile that spread across Emerald's face. Even without her, those rumors would have started to spread. She made sure they would reach their intended audience even sooner.

…

Minutes passed as everyone but the public literally had their fingers on their triggers, waiting for any signs of a breech, expecting a pitch black flood with pairs of glowing eyes to crash through the gates and anywhere else. Aside from Ironwood and Qrow, those few who had witnessed the fate of the first casualties, were expecting much worse. Those who knew the real reason behind the attack and of the figure pulling the strings of her dark puppets, were still not entirely convinced they would have to clash with an army. The gigantic harbinger of the hidden enemy's forces was most likely an instrument of fear, rather than their destruction, since it could not hope to tread on land, no matter its enormous strength and resilience. The real danger lied they knew not where. Minutes have passed. A quarter of an hour. Nearly half of one, before anyone got impatient with what was not happening. Students already had to move on to their next class.

"Where _are_ they?" Yang asked, looking around, from the middle of the courtyard as team RWBY, ORNJ and SSSN formed a circle, in the order of their initials, ending with Ilia.

"Maybe...there's not enough negativity?" Oscar spoke, unsure, still learning about the Grimm.

"Maybe." Blake agreed, easing her own mind some, as too many people with the same worried thoughts were a lure to the Grimm and a weapon for their enemy.

"Are you good to fight?" Jaune asked, given how the last fight happened only two days ago.

"I think I am." Oscar replied.

"Don't think you are." Ren encouragingly advised. "Know you are." He was kneeling, trying to feel any approaching threat, before it even showed itself.

"Is...that from a movie?" Neptune asked, with his rifle in his hands.

"Why did it even swallow them?" Ironwood asked as he, Qrow, Winter and Ghira stood at the entrance, referring to the Leviathan.

"Doubt it ate 'em." Qrow replied. "Salem can keep the Grimm from attacking if she wants to. I've seen it. It's how the Fang could literally _ship_ them t' Beacon." He glanced at Ghira at that last part.

"She can influence them as such?" Ghira was astonished and troubled by it.

"That may also explain how they can travel safely, between continents." Winter noted. "They're not in danger from the Grimm." Ironwood took a step back and turned, raising his hand to touch the comm-link in his ear.

"All units, report!" he spoke and listened.

"It sounds like it even protected them." Ghira replied to Winter and she nodded in agreement. A moment of silence passed, as Ironwood checked in with everyone. Their heads turned and their eyes kept looking around, to the roofs and everywhere.

"So...how're yer claws?" Qrow turned his head to Ghira, who raised a brow, needing a second to catch his meaning. Winter turned, as well.

"I've used them very recently, actually." Ghira stated, not particularly proud of it, but he was still confident in his ability to fight.

"Well, good!" Qrow smiled, looking ahead. "Can't let the kids have _all_ the fun." he added.

"Not everyone gets their thrill from fighting." Winter remarked.

"Eh, it gets the blood flowin'." Qrow shrugged. "When was the last time you were in a serious fight, anyway?" he turned to her. "I mean, besides the one we had." he added with a smirk, before she could answer.

"Don't flatter yourself." Winter muttered, with a mild glare.

"We have nothing!" They turned when Ironwood exclaimed as he returned to them. "None of the units are seeing any activity." he said, not any less on edge.

"That is, perhaps, even more worrying." Ghira voiced all of their thoughts.

Ren was still concentrating. "I...I can feel something." Nora glanced at him.

"He-ey! Ren says he can feel something!" she yelled.

"Nora...!" Jaune whispered, in consideration for Ren. Ruby ran over to him with her rifle ready.

"Like...in Kuroyuri?" she asked, remembering how he was overwhelmed by the presence of the unique Grimm, there, even before it showed itself and not only because of his past with it.

"No." Ren said, keeping his eyes closed. "It's...not as strong."

"So, the Grimm aren't close?" Jaune asked and Ren kept concentrating.

"It's more like they're..." he paused and his eyes opened. "Underground." Ruby ran across the yard, to the adults.

"Ren says the Grimm are moving under the ground!" she shouted, from afar.

"What?" Ironwood asked and Ruby stopped in front of them.

"He can...kinda feel the Grimm, when they're around. But, he says he doesn't feel them very much, so, he thinks they're underground." she quickly explained.

"Underground?" Ghira asked. "But, isn't that where...?"

"The relic is." Qrow's eyes narrowed.

"They shouldn't have _any_ idea where it is!" Ironwood was cursing without actually using any words to that effect.

"Well, it looks like they're gettin' warm." Qrow said.

"The facility already reported nothing usual." Ironwood said. "But, we have to make sure!" he added and they started towards the nearest shuttle.

"You and yer friends, stay here, kiddo!" Qrow told Ruby.

"But...!" Ruby started.

"No buts." Qrow said.

"Where're you going?" Yang asked, turning after him, as they passed them.

"Gonna check on the relic." Qrow replied and Yang saw and opportunity.

"I'm going with you!" she said, not in a volunteering tone, but one that said she wanted no arguments. Qrow halted, turning to her, as she was already walking with them.

"What for?" he asked, as Yang passed.

"'Well, because you wouldn't even have it, if I hadn't gone and get it." Yang told him l, with a shrug, as if it was supposed to be reason enough for her to tag along and Qrow thought as much.

"What's that even got t' do with...?"

"Let her go!" Oscar suddenly spoke and Yang turned to look at him with almost as much surprise as Qrow. "Uh...Oz said she should go, if...she feels like she has to." He shrugged, as well.

"She can come!" Ironwood anxiously said. "Just let's move!" He strode on.

"Yang!?" Ruby called after her.

"I'll be fine!" she yelled back, reassuringly, over her shoulder. Ghira and Blake exchanged a silent nod.

Patrolling guards who walked around the platforms did not even react as Emerald hurried to the back of the shuttle and waited until the last person started boarding it. She hastened her steps, but not too much and walked around to the side and up the ramp, right behind Ghira, who briefly stopped and turned back, thinking he heard someone behind him. The soldiers who were guarding the shuttle, headed up the ramp, after them, making him believe he was wrong, as Emerald slipped into the small cargo hold, in the back of the shuttle and hid behind a panel, stopping her illusion to let her own mind rest. She smiled, as she listened to Ironwood, who ordered the pilot to take them to a particular storage facility and Emerald was sure they were going to the Relic of Knowledge, which meant she would, soon, know its exact location. Since she was wearing a uniform, all the students could see from the distance they were at, was the adults and Yang boarding the shuttle with a couple of soldiers. Their shuttle took to the air and passed over the courtyard, heading to the capital's northern outskirts, again.

"Can you still feel them?" Jaune asked.

"A little." Ren replied, still in the same position. Below them, in the drainage system, the sewers, basements and the sub-levels of the buildings and military installations, floating shadows drifted. Bone-white, faceless masks kept turning and their small, legless bodies rushed from one dark corner to the other, in search of something.

...

"Our litt'l Geists must have started thei'h search by now." Watts stated, calmly sitting in his chair with the Seer at his side. He slowly raised his hand to its orb and it slightly drifted away from it, which made him smile in amusement.

"I don'even know what'd be worse. Being stuck in a pod with _those_ things." Mercury muttered, as he sat, arms folded, waiting, along with Hazel. In two separate containment rooms, in the back of the vessel's haul, Adam and Tyrian both sat, in complete darkness. "Or in _here_." Mercury added as Tyrian let out a quiet laugh, as if he heard his complaint and was enjoying his unease.

...

During their approach to the entrance and throughout the first few levels, Yang had felt an odd sensation. She could hear the worried thoughts of the others, as they practically formed into words inside their minds. But, she was also feeling something else. Something she could not, yet, describe. Ironwood, Qrow, Ghira, Winter and Yang were the only ones who entered the facility, as far as the guards on the lower, higher clearance levels, were concerned. The two soldiers who officially accompanied them from the Academy waited at the entrance and as Ironwood led the group deeper, no one even noticed a third woman walking with them.

Emerald paused, now and again, briefly stepping out of sight of everyone to let her mind rest, which incidentally also made Yang believe her strange feeling may have been nothing to be concerned about. The lower they went the more guards there were, except on the deepest level, to which only Ironwood had elevator access to and only he and the people with him knew of the item that was stored there.

Yang felt her head becoming suddenly lighter, as there were no more guards near enough. She was starting to realize the relic had to be close to the people whose thoughts she could or wanted to hear. The farther they were from it, the weaker the effect was and the less she could hear. Close to it, she was able to even see their thoughts and memories, as the lantern would illuminate more the closer it was to what it shed light on. That last part is what made her suspicious, once more. She kept looking around, in Ironwood's vault, as they approached the chamber for the Relic and she kept seeing images, as the others looked around themselves. She knew that unless she could suddenly visualize her own thoughts, the ones she was seeing could only have been from their perspective. And yet, she kept picking up on the mind of a person who was, apparently, focusing very hard on not being there. She shook her head as it made no sense to her. On the other hand, she could see the minds of the people who were with her more clearly.

Ironwood was seeing the fall of Beacon and the Grimm invading Vale, all over again, as he feared the worst for Atlas. Yang then saw cities, villages and battlefields as if she had been there in person, watching, with a weapon in two able hands, then only one. A leg lost. Crawling away from a light at the end of a tunnel. The same nightmares, for days, weeks that turned into months and then years. Red eyes. Teeth and claws. Fellow soldiers falling, no matter how valiantly they fought them all. Ozpin sitting in his chair, contemplating telling him something of great importance with Glynda and Qrow by his side.

" _They_ _ **are**_ _fear."_ Qrow told him.

" _And_ _ **fear**_ _will bring the Grimm."_ Ozpin said.

" _He experienced what the rest of us lack."_ Glynda told him and his mind was on Ozpin. He wanted to look to him for answers, for what they had to do. Because he failed to trust in his judgement. Yang scoffed at that as Ozpin admitted he had made more mistakes than anyone could fathom.

Ghira's thoughts were on his wife, back in Menagerie, with all of its people and their way of life in front of Yang, who reached out to put a large hand on Kali's shoulder, hoping no harm would come to her and the Faunus, since their enemy was mobilizing forces that could reach across the globe. He thought of Blake, with immense pride, as she stood and faced, not just the hordes of literal beasts, but those that came in the form of mankind's worst qualities. Then she was suddenly surrounded by friends and allies, making her stronger in both body and mind. Teaching her perseverance and wisdom far faster than how he had learned. He feared for her safety, but at the same time, he knew she was standing ready, as he thought of her guarding the academy. He recalled the fight in their home and the one at Haven, seeing Sun and Ilia and new Blake was in capable hands. Then Yang saw herself through his eyes, chancing glances at herself and Blake, seeing unspoken words being said by both of them, with just their eyes, ever since they left Haven and particularly after their get together at the buffet, the day before. He remembered back to Blake telling him about her. How strong a person she was, even more so in will. And how much strength she gave her. She felt Ghira was reassured, again, of Blake's safety and Yang felt flattered by his thoughts of her.

Winter was running scenarios in her head, recalling every report and every moment she saw of the battles at Beacon and Haven to try and predict where and how an attack would come. But, it did not take long for her mind to be occupied by thoughts of her sister and their family. How their feuding could not be happening at a worst time. Their mother drowning her sorrows in wine, sitting in a chair, barely sober, on the rare occasions she would see her, even before she would go off to serve in the military to escape having to put up with her or their controlling father. How her sister was going to accomplish anything she set out to do, when it seemed a war could erupt at any second that could see everything her sister was trying to fight for destroyed, as she envisioned Atlas and their home in ruins. Then she was reminded of Ozpin's speech about his past acts, in the war itself, the founding of the academies, the guarding of the relics, the power of magic that he gave the Maidens and even Qrow. The whirlwind of thoughts and images around herself she tried to calm and organize with barely any success. Her training and mental fortitude did little to help, after her world was turned upside down.

Qrow let his emotions show, a lot more often, even if most of it came in the form of sarcastic or plain snide coupled with vulgarity. It was different in his head. He was regretting, even then, dragging the rest of his family into it all, having flashbacks of both her and Ruby, when they were a lot smaller and even less manageable. She felt him think how she lost more than a damn arm, along with any chance she had left of having a normal teen-hood. Of how both she and Ruby were putting up a brave face, laughing and horsing around, having little fights, like the one yesterday. How everyone was just starting to get along and things were looking upwards for a lot of them. He even buried some more hatchets with Winter, around the table. Thought how she actually looked nicer, with just a small smile on her face. How her sister and his little niece were like them, at first, and now were inseparable in the way he could never be with anyone and knew he should not to even try to be. The best he could do was to try and do some good with his life and the man who gave him that better purpose was counting on him to keep it together, even after Ozpin saw him at his lowest point, sitting with his back against the window of his office, in Beacon Tower, staring into empty space, as a younger version of the Professor knelt in front of Qrow with a comforting hand on his shoulder. Qrow pushed those thoughts back inside.

Yang pulled herself back from their minds as they approached the chamber.

"Without any way to sense them, they could be surrounding us." Ghira looked for an ambush.

"Yeah. But, how would they be even moving _underground_?" Yang asked. "That's no Grimm _**I**_ ever heard off."

"You haven't heard o' the thing yer friends fought, either. Classes can only tell ya so much, remember?" Qrow reminded her and Yang sighed.

"You're starting to sound like dad." she muttered.

"Where could they have gotten inside the capital?" Winter asked. "There cannot possibly be enough negativity to draw them this far in. And not without detection."

"There are no signs of an intrusion." Ironwood said. "And we've seen nothing on the way." he added, stopping in front of the chamber, then placed his cybernetic palm on a scanner. It clamped onto his cybernetic hand, keeping it firmly in place, as a port opened on his palm, not visible to anyone. The device jacked into it and after an exchange of data opened the chamber's door that still had bars of lasers guarding it. The cloth-covered container of the relic was on a high, metallic, circular pedestal that was surrounded by a circle of lasers. He unplugged from the device and walked into the small space, as the lasers briefly deactivated. Emerald took a step to go in and lift the relic from right under their noses, but she saw the bars of lasers activate, again as soon as Ironwood stepped inside.

"Woah." Yang said, having never seen such security.

Emerald made a face at that, but did not lose focus. She could not afford to, especially in that moment. Ironwood went to the pedestal and to Emerald's surprise his cybernetic hand reached through a few of the beams that temporarily turned off. He lifted the cloth and Emerald could see the lantern-like relic, the way she remembered it, as they briefly saw it in Yang's hand. Right before she realized Cinder was gone. She pushed the thought out of her head as quickly as it came. Cinder was still alive and she would recover. She hoped and glanced at the others, in front of her. If she had been in front of them, they might have seen through her illusion, as she could have flickered into plain sight. All because she briefly lost focus. But, as she discovered, it was far easier for her to maintain an illusion of not being there, even over multiple minds, than it was to pretend to be someone else, especially in front of all of them. She was not going to fail her mission. Her only chance to win the good graces of the being who had Cinder's life in her hand. She took a small device that fit into her palm, out of her satchel and attached it to the wall, where no one could see.

"If they're not attacking underground, then what are they doing?" Winter asked.

"Could...the boy have been wrong?" Ghira asked, referring to Ren.

"No. I saw the kid's got a talent for that." Qrow said. "If he felt something, then it was there."

"We just don't know why." Winter stated, somewhat annoyed they had no real idea what their enemy was doing. Ironwood glared to himself, in frustration and left the chamber.

...

The gates shut behind them, as they left the facility. Emerald slipped out, not taking the shuttle back with them and found a secluded spot from where she could make contact with Watts, again.

"We've got a problem." Emerald started.

"Oh?" Watts raised a brow.

"They're keeping that thing in a room with lasers. And only Ironwood can go in without setting them off. It's like he can go through them, but then they come back on, as soon as he's through." Emerald explain.

"Hmm." Watts smoothed his moustache in thought. "He must have had an extremely sho'ht-wave transmitte'h built into his cybernetic body that temporarily disables the security measu'ehz to allow him and _only_ him, it seems, inside that particula'h room. Very clever, General." he concluded. "A rathe'h unique obstacle. One that I cannot deal with remotely, I'm afraid. You'll have to guide us there and undoubtedly have to take possession of the General's arm, in order to...crack _this_ safe, dear."

"So, what? I'm gonna have to cut his arm off?" Emerald thought it impossible.

"Oh, not you. I believe you'h delicate hands and weapons may not be suitable for that task." Watts said.

"Then who?" Emerald narrowed her eyes.

"Someone who has... _experience_ in cutting off ah'ms." Watts smirked, as Adam waited in the dark. "Until he arrives, you can keep you'hself busy by spreading mo' rum'ehz of the attack. That should…set the mood."

"Hh. fine." Emerald sighed and terminated the connection.

"So, what? You're gonna launch the guy in a torpedo or something?" Mercury asked.

"Nothing so drastic." Watts replied as his submarine was but a short swim away from the rocky shore. Adam slowly walked forth, onto the cold land, from the even colder waves that lapped at it, soaked in its icy water, showing no signs of discomfort, at all, as he walked on.


	8. Chapter 8

Ch. 8 – Tensions Rising

Small groups of Geists scattered under the city, unimpeded by walls and unnoticed by the people going about their daily lives and duties above. From the shuttle, a lot more figures could be seen on the academy's courtyard.

"So, what now?" Qrow was asking Ironwood, as they made it back to the academy, where several armed Atlas students have gathered on the courtyard, during another recess, still keeping their distance from the guests, with the exception of team FNKI.

"The alert status will _not_ be lifted. I won't have anyone unarmed and potentially unable to defend themselves and academy." Ironwood said.

"It'll be like a long drill for 'em, huh?" Qrow did not find it unreasonable.

"They're prepared for it." Ironwood said and Ghira spotted something.

"What about _him_?" he asked and pointed. They followed it to see Jacque stomping up the steps to the courtyard, a little ahead of them, as they started to land.

"Oh, no." Winter narrowed her eyes as he was headed straight towards her sister.

The others saw him before Weiss, who turned from Flint and his team, to see her father coming towards her. She narrowed her eyes and kept glaring as he spoke.

"You think you're being clever?" Jacque asked.

"I have no idea what you mean." And she genuinely did not know what brought her father to the academy, again and as winter walked ahead of the returning group, he was shouting by the end.

"Imagine my associates' amusement when they told me you were trying to partner with them, in an effort to undermine _my_ businesses and _my_ company! They might as well have been mocking me _outright_!" He looked to the side to see his other daughter joined them and threw Winter a quick glare, which the latter returned. "And if that wasn't enough of an embarrassment, you break into the estate, _assault me_ and destroy my _property_! Then I have to hear every channel and every damn paper talking about why the same daughter of mine was flouncing around with another _girl_ at a gala in Mistral." He turned to a frightened and confused Ruby, at the end, who visibly shrunk, not understanding what angered him about that. Weiss' eyes briefly widened, but she was not really surprised he found it wrong. Even if it was not actually what the news sources made it out to be.

"That's not exactly true." Winter stepped in, protectively towards her sister. "Entrance to the gala was only allowed to-..." Weiss raised a hand to stop her, to Winter's surprise and took step towards their father, who expectantly raised a narrowed brow.

"This might be difficult for you to accept..." Weiss started, not raising her voice. "But, I don't care what this _rotten_ kingdom thinks." All eyes went even wider, except Jacques. "And I definitely don't care what _you_ think." she told him and his eye twitched. "You ruined this kingdom. But, before that? You ruined our family. And I'm going to take our name back." Jacque was momentarily confused. "From _you_." And then he understood her threat and his anger started bubbling to the surface.

"Guard!" Ironwood's shout quickly cut through the roiling air to the nearest patrolling soldier. "Escort Mr. Schnee, here, off the academy grounds." he ordered the approaching female guard.

"Yes, sir!" The guard nodded and turned to Jacque, who leaned closer to Weiss' glaring face and lowered his voice.

"I may not be able to prove what you and your little friends had done. But, if you think you can get away with this insolence, you're going to have a very rude wake up call." he threatened her.

"Jacque…" Ironwood started.

"Don't bother, James!" Jacque told him as he turned to leave, without the guard.

"It's for your own protection. We're on alert!" Ironwood called after him.

"Yes, yes! I know about the attack!" Jacque dismissively waved a hand, without even turning back to look at them and see the surprise on Ironwood's face. "I have my own men!" he stubbornly added and walked off without another word.

"How does he know already?" Ghira asked. "I understand he has…perhaps the most privileged position, but even so…"

"He still shouldn't've heard about it _this_ fast." Qrow said, suspicious.

"Someone is already disseminating the information to the public." Winter said. Ironwood abruptly turned and walked towards the main building, growing more frustrated with the situation.

"Looks like someone snitched on you." Yang told Weiss, folding her arms as she rejoined them.

"From all the people you talked with yesterday?" Blakes asked. Weiss glared at ground at her feet, already feeling betrayed.

"But, they can't _all_ be bad, right?" Ruby asked, not to get her down and Weiss looked up at her, then nodded, knowing she was right. That there still were some among them who knew it would be better for the Company and for the kingdom if she took charge.

"Man, you folks a'hr movin' in some pretty hi'h circles! Pallin' around with the General?" K said.

"Yeah, we can get you into some good places." Yang smiled. "You know any?" she jokingly asked, as they sure did not know any venues, being new to the city and K grinned with a laugh.

"This ain't the time t' go clubbin'." Qrow reminded them. "You kids need t' stay sharp. Whoever we're dealing with, they're already _here_. Tch." he shook his head, once. "This is startin' t' look like Beacon, all over again." he muttered, trying to keep calm, but everyone could see he was worked up about it.

"If I'd told you to calm down…?" Winter said. "You would…?"

"Tell you I don't _need to_!" Qrow replied, raising his voice.

"And then I'd tell you that you _do_." Winter firmly said.

"And then we'd start arguing." Qrow realized what she was trying to prevent. He briefly closed his eyes and sighed. Then noticed the rest of the students started to move back inside and the others saw it.

"Guys, class is about to start!" Neon remembered.

"Well, sorry, y'all! We'll see ya later!" Flint told them and headed inside with his team.

"Now would be an even better time for me to visit where all Faunus live." Ghira said. "I did not make time yesterday."

"The workers' district?" Winter asked.

"I'm sure they must have soldiers protecting them." Ghira said. "But, if news of the attack spread there, as well, then they and all the people can be in danger. In any event, I need to speak to them, again."

"I'm coming with you." Blake said.

"Count us in." Sun said and exchanged a nod with his team.

"Yep." Yang nodded.

"Ilia?" Blake turned to hear, remembering the family she met.

"Yes." Ilia nodded.

"Same as last time, then." Sun noted and Ghira nodded.

"What should _we_ do?" Ruby asked. Qrow just shrugged.

"We're meeting with father's associates at noon." Winter stated, looking at Weiss. "Unless there is another attack."

"Maybe we should see how the people of the city are." Ren spoke.

" _I was just about to suggest that."_ Ozpin thought.

"Gonna see what James is doin' about that." Qrow said.

"We're gonna be back by noon for the meeting." Yang told Weiss as she turned to leave with Blake, Ghira, team SSSN and Ilia.

"We should check the city, then." Jaune said, looking at Ren and the latter nodded, along with the others. Ruby hesitantly started asked Weiss.

"So…do you know any weapon shops? Arcades? Or music stores?" she wanted Weiss to lead.

"Your uncle _just_ told you we cannot make time for such things, right now." Winter reminded her and Ruby realized she was quickly losing focus, again.

"Oh, right…" she looked at her feet and kept walking. "Sorry." she apologized.

"Don't worry…like I said, we'll have plenty of time…after all of this is over." Weiss also reminded Ruby of her promise to show her everything, sorry that they had no time, right then. "Of course, going into the city, is going to show you _some_ of it, at least." Weiss pointed and Ruby cheered right back up, making Weiss smile.

"Then let's go!" Ruby exclaimed and Weiss could barely let out a gasp as she grabbed her and blurred ahead with her semblance, again. Winter shook her head.

"That girl just cannot seem to prioritize and focus on the mission." she said.

"No..." Oscar spoke and Winter looked at her. "She's trying not to." he said and Winter raised a brow. "She thinks about things just as much as any of us. But, she's trying not to let any of it bring her down. Or anyone else. She does it…she smiles and everything…so others could, too." he explained, remembering their fairly recent confrontation that showed him and – unbeknownst to Ruby – part of her team just how hard she was trying to cope, not just with the past and the present, but what the future may have in store for all of them. Winter understood Ruby better, at that moment.

…

The streets were not particularly packed, but Winter saw there were considerably more people and soldiers out than usual, as well as groups of journalists and reporters with their crews going up to business owners and other regular citizens, who all had rumors to pass on. Then they directed their attention to the patrolling soldiers, whose attempts to deny everything or just simply not confirm anything, only fueled both the public and the media in spreading the alarming news. The soldiers could not order all of them to return to their work or their homes.

At the headquarters, Qrow stepped into Ironwood's open office, to find him searching the immediate reports on how wide the information has already spread.

"How bad is it?" Qrow asked and Ironwood hit a button on his desk that projected a three-dimensional map of the city, much like the one they viewed in Ozpin's office.

"See for yourself." Ironwood told Qrow and the areas indicated in red spoke for themselves. "Some people in the _outer_ districts are already talking about it and asking our patrols for the truth. It's as if someone is going to every part of the city to relay the story to make it spread faster. And with details they _shouldn't_ even know."

"Like what?" Qrow asked.

"The official word that went out to all of our units was simply that we were attacked and have taken casualties. Nothing else! But, people are describing how we fired everything we had on a giant sea creature that then destroyed our troops. No one outside of the command room should know that. And while you're right that some of our soldiers might eventually let something slip, this information was too specific and it reached the people too fast. After it gained traction it started spreading on the network, as well."

"You're sayin' we've been hacked, again?" Qrow suspected.

"No. We didn't even need to be." Ironwood replied.

…

"So why didn't you do all that computer stuff this time?" A bored Mercury asked Watts aboard the sub. "Could've, at least, spared her some legwork." he referred to Emerald.

"I suppose I could have." Watts admitted. "But, ouh' little mind-bendeh' is doing a mah'velous job on her own. Besides, I'll have the opportunity to put _my_ skills to use, as well. I'll just have to wait for the pieces to move into place." he said as somewhere outside the capital, close to the shore, Adam observed a patrol ship landing at a light-house that was a security checkpoint and a depot, keeping to the cover of some shrubs and rocks.

…

Winter saw her sister and Ruby getting followed by a group of reporters and journalists, who kept yelling question at them, until Weiss stopped and started talking to them, as Ruby hid behind her.

"Can you tell us what you know about the attack?" Someone asked for the umpteenth time that minute, alone.

"How do you even know about that? Who told you?" Weiss asked back, thinking she might as well try investigating and the group fell silent and looked at one another, not just because they were not used to getting questions, but because their sources were too numerous to even mention. Weiss sighed and shook her head, seeing it would get her nowhere. "Let's go, Ruby." she pulled her away, by the hand, as they kept calling for her to wait and say more. They stopped in front of a shop's window that had several television sets, some showing the latest news, while others showed the debates around them. They were already talking about the giant Grimm that destroyed the naval forces and many news outlets, as well as the citizens they were showing, voiced their fears that not even the military could probably defend against something like that. Others were quick to reassure the people they had nothing to worry about, as they were on land, but those placating thoughts were immediately dissolved by repeated footage from the battle of Beacon and the giant dragon that ruled the city-turned-battlefield both in the sky and on the land. And even though it was currently immobilized, no one could be certain another Grimm like it would not show itself. Weiss narrowed her eyes at the screens, then noticed how Ruby was staring at it all. The ruined tower. Their overrun school and the place where she lost friends. Weiss quickly stepped in front of her. "Come on." And gently started to lead her away by the shoulder.

"The General said the people wouldn't be worried." Oscar commented, as team ORNJ and Winter observed the scene, watching Weiss and Ruby walk off.

"He couldn't predict the enemy would have such a… _beast_ on their side that could decimate our forces in an instant." Winter said. "It goes beyond anyone's imagination. It is no surprise people are losing their complacency, even here. Granted, everything is happening more slowly than on the night Beacon was attacked. I cannot imagine what would've happened if that… _thing_ hadn't been stopped." Winter referred to the Dragon.

"So…" Weiss hesitated, not wanting Ruby to think about the attack any more than she already has. "That…thing. That Dragon." Ruby looked at her. "Was that…you? Did you do that? With your eyes?" Ruby silently nodded, twice, looking away. "And…Cinder? Her face? That too?"

"I…I dunno. I don't remember anything, after…" Pyrrha's death. Weiss realized where Ruby's mind went and instantly regretted it.

 _[Another moon could shatter,_

 _Our halcyon days are gone.]_

"I'm sorry." she balled her fists, in front of herself, mentally cursing herself. "I shouldn't have asked."

"I-It's okay." Ruby quietly replied.

 _[Doesn't even matter,_

 _You still smile on.]_

"No, it's not." Weiss stated more forcefully, upset with herself. "You're always trying to make everyone feel better and here I am, doing exactly the opposite."

 _[But, I look into your eyes_

 _See my ugliness inside.]_

"Is that…why you don't like it here, anymore?" Ruby saw it more and more in Weiss and the latter also felt it.

 _[In noble disguise_

 _I tried to hide.]_

"That charity ball I told you about?" Weiss started. "There were people who had no idea what it was about. They didn't even know what happened at Beacon."

 _[All the anger breaking through_

 _I know I should do without.]_

"And the ones who did…? Some of them _laughed_ and said Vale deserved what happened to it."

 _[But I know what's true_

 _And I want to shout.]_

"And _they're_ the people we're trying to protect." Weiss said in disgust. "Like, those two women at the gala." She was reminded of them.

 _[Forgive the faults of mankind_

 _Honor-bound to do what's right.]_

"But…you told me that I would help them, anyway." Ruby recalled. "That it didn't matter what kind of person they were…I'd do the right thing."

 _[No one is left blind_

 _Remain the light.]_

"You would." Weiss repeated. "And so would I, but…you don't even think - not even for a second - that they don't deserve to be helped." she admitted having thoughts to the contrary.

 _[I will still answer the call_

 _I will not let them fall, but…]_

"Unlike me. And that's what makes you better…than anyone." Ruby understood her admission and could see Weiss was ashamed of herself.

 _[Mirror, mirror…_

 _On the wall_

 _I'm not the fairest…_

 _Of them all.]_

…

The snow and ice-covered buildings in the worker's district were only a few stories high compared to the larger housings and estates in the heart of the capital and while basic services, like water, heating and electricity were provided, the cold was only kept away, in pockets, at the busier intersections of streets and more populated squares by heat-generators, as there were no domes to keep it all in. This lack of protection from the elements, as they saw on the way, was not only apparent in the places where Faunus lived, but the farther they got from the center, the less care it was given, even in areas that were predominantly or completely filled by humans. Both Ilia and Ghira were reminded how the kingdom and its most privileged citizens seemed to care little for providing certain needs even for their own kind. It was here, they could actually see some wild-life in the form of birds and stray animals. The people who were the backbone of the kingdom's economy, who literally gave blood and sweat to keep it afloat in all the dust they mined, spending most of their wretched existence in its mines, were also the ones who saw the least of that material wealth and the ones who lived the poorest. This irony was also not lost on anyone.

"Are all those deaths really true?" One scared, scaly, middle-aged Faunus man was asking Ghira as a crowd gathered around him, on a small, paved market square, some breaking off from waiting in line at the stands. Yang was standing off to the side with team SSSN, plus Ilia, who was standing with the little boy and his parents.

"The military really can't protect us?" asked a frightened, feathered woman, who had her wings wrapped around herself and the little daughter she had hugging her, who was peeking from their cover at Ghira and Blake. The latter slowly crouched to be at eye-level with her and gave her a warm smile as her father talked. He considered his words, as he could see that whoever spread the news of the attack made sure the people felt they were not safe, even with the military around them. They glanced at the patrolling guards.

"They're not alone." Ghira stated, trying to quell their fears. "Neither are the Faunus and the kingdom. As the General and I said, yesterday, our safety lies not in our power, alone, but in standing together. _All of us_ are here to protect one another. Giving into fear of defeat disarms us."

"Literally." Yang quietly commented, arms folded, standing off to the side with team SSSN, plus Ilia, who all gave her a silent stare. She knew what it felt like to be afraid. Not just of being helpless and unable to fight back, but of returning to a life of fighting while still being haunted by defeat.

" _That_ is our worst enemy. The Grimm will only come _if our fears let them_." Ghira went on as Blake reached out with a hand that that the little girl slowly took.

"What do you think you are doing here!?" An obnoxious, angry voice rang out across the market and all whispering quickly stopped as a greying, rotund, moustached man dressed in a burgundy business suit and a bowler hat walked towards them, flanked by hired guards, as if he owned the ground he walked on. Given his jewel-encrusted cane, similarly sparkling, thick wrist-watch and the ridiculously large diamond rings on his large fingers, including his ring-finger, it was everyone's safe bet that he actually owned the whole district. He certainly made the workers silent with his mere presence.

"I was convinced Jacque was exaggerating when he told me his workers left the mines empty. And what do I find!? My own men didn't show up for the morning shift, yesterday. I already disciplined half the lousy lot, thinking they would pass on the message. They were smart enough to do as they were told and returned to work, but it looks to me, like, the rest of you animals don't know how to _obey_!" he barked at them and those closest flinched, obviously afraid of the man. He noticed a few unfamiliar faces that stood out from the crowd, by their attire. Not that he even bothered to remember anyone's face who was below him on the socio-economic level.

"Excuse me…" Ghira turned to him, taking a deep breath to calm himself, after his remark.

"You're excused. Whoever you are." the man replied.

"You do not know?" Ghira asked, somewhat surprised, but more angry that the man was obviously so callous, cared so little about anything else than himself and his business, he did not even appear to be following what was going on in the kingdom.

"Should I?" came the condescending response. "If you're here to purchase these pack-mules than I'll be all too happy to sell them for you…" he offered, not even noticing who or what he was talking to. "As useless as they seemed to be, these past few days. But, you're a big fellow. Maybe you can make them heel even better than I could." He assumed, by his stature and clothes, Ghira was there to buy a workforce, as if they were slaves to be bought or traded. "But, I've already spent years breaking them in, you see. So, I'll have to include that in the price." The shocked faces he was seeing gave him absolutely no indication that he made a huge mistake with his candor. He probably felt safe to speak so openly, given how the people, there, were literally owned by him, whether any actual paperwork showed that or not, but they could guess everything was made to appear perfectly legitimate.

Ghira slowly clenched his fists and took a step, but Yang walked in front of him. "Excuse _you_!" she told the man, placing a hand on Ghira's chest, while thumbing at her herself with the other. "But, I'm the one who's making the deals here, pal!" she said and whispered to Ghira. "Play along." she told him and walked up to the man.

"Heh- _You_!?" He incredulously asked. "Aren't you a little young to be in this…trade, Miss?"

"Oh, believe me…" Yang leaned close with a smirk. "I have… _experience_." she suggestively said and it, more than anything else she could have said, convinced the man. "In fact, I was…born into it." she turned her head, giving Blake a wink the man did not see. "The kitty cat, there?" Yang thumbed at Blake, who raised a brow at the nickname. "She's my…secretary, slash, servant, you could say." she improvised, much to Blake's surprise. "And the big man…" Yang glanced at Ghira. "He's been my bodyguard, since I was little." Yang folded her arms. "They know their place."

"Oh, impressive! But…I didn't catch your family's name." the man got curious.

"Oh, they're not around, anymore. They cared more about the business than me, so one day, I…took it from them." she raised her cybernetic hand and showed her guns. "They couldn't really…argue much." Eyes widened, especially the man's. "Changed my name and made myself a nice living." He genuinely started to believe he was dealing with a woman who forcibly took her parents' business, made it her own and made them disappear. "I can tell you all about it, over a nice drink." Yang quickly found a meager bar, with her eyes, that was at the foot of a small apartment building and nodded towards it. "I heard you say Jacque Schnee's name? Maybe you can…introduce us, after you're done with me." Yang's sultry tone did wonders to sway the man, to who it did not even occur to pry more. He happily obliged her and they started walking towards the bar.

…

"I cannot help but think this is also a diversion." Winter wondered out loud, with team ORNJ as they continued to observe the people. "Even considering the brutal attack and its effect on the populace. Inciting panic to lure the Grimm towards the capital cannot possibly be their main plan, no matter how large a force they can bring."

"Maybe that's what they want us to believe." Jaune said and Winter looked at him. "We're expecting an army, but…maybe they won't even need one. All the Grimm and the White Fang, at Beacon, even that dragon, they were really just there to keep us all away from the real fight, while they were making their move. So the people who still tried to stop them…" he looked at the armor on his hands. "Couldn't." Ozpin and Oscar, through him, knew he was thinking about Pyrrha, most of all.

…

"I know I told you already…" Weiss was saying to Ruby. "But, I'm so sorry I couldn't even be there, after Beacon. For you and the rest of the team." she realized she needed to shift the topic a bit, as it only reminded Ruby of that difficult time. "Do you think…" she started. "Do you think Blake and Yang…had that talk? I mean, it's only been two days, but…it kind of looks like they did. They're not arguing or anything. Right?" she asked, in an attempt to find something Ruby could smile about as Weiss tried to give her one.

"Uh, yeah." Ruby nodded, with the hint of a smile. "I kinda thought they'd yell at each other or something. Maybe they did and we just didn't hear them." she shrugged. Weiss reconsidered saying they were past it.

"Well…at least they're trying to move forward. What matters the most is we're all together, again. Like you said." she repeated her words and they made Ruby smile, a little more, which gave Weiss reason to do so, too.

…

The two hired guards were left outside, on either side of the bar's entrance, preventing anyone else from entering and those who were already inside left the moment they saw the man come in.

"They've been in there for a long time." Ghira said with some worry. "What do you think she is trying to do?" he asked Blake, who was more worried about the man's physical well-being, even though he practically told them he was a slave-trader. Inside, the man already had a few drinks and was talking even more candidly to Yang, who kept a fake smile throughout his disgusting description of his business and his connections.

"I don't think I've ever seen a little lady like you with such spunk! You could give half my partners a hard-time. And speaking of time…" he leaned forward and reach out with a hand, brushing Yang's hair, from across the table. "I'm interested in a good one, myself! Hn-heh. Heh-heh-heh!" he laughed to himself, in the delusion he was being charming. Yang calmly grabbed his hand.

"I think I got what I wanted." she said.

"Huh?" he dumbly blinked at her and seconds later, the door nearly came off its hinges as the man tumbled out, rolling to a stop a few paces from it. The two alarmed guards exchanged looks and rushed inside. A few hard punches could be heard and they followed after their boss, as one after the other was thrown out. Yang casually stepped out, dusting her palms. "W-w—wh—what…? What the hell!?" the man, though angry, barely understood what was going on.

"Yang?" Blake walked up to her. "What…did you do?" she asked and Yang held up her scroll and pressed a button on it that started playing a recording of the man.

" _Heh. Hahahaha! The authorities! Pff! A little money here, a little more there…the higher up we go and they're off our back! I mean, we hire the odd mercenary, sometimes, to take care of the noisier ones! But, Jacque is more professional than that. Or…the people he usually hires are, anyway. A lot more rery—rely—reliable."_ the intoxicated man stumbled. _"Not your run-of-the-mill hired muscle, either. Real hitman!"_ he raised his voice, sounding impressed. _"He comes off all calm and cold, but I don't think he has the stomach for it, himself."_ Yang ended the playback.

"There's a lot more where _that_ came from!" she said. "And we're gonna need every bit to bring Weiss' dad down. Along with a few of his friends, like this guy." she looked at the man on the ground, who was even more lost than before.

"But…w-what will happen to us?" A male worker asked, almost as if the concept of not being indentured was foreign to him.

"If we can get 'em arrested, you won't be traded like slaves, anymore." Yang told them all.

"You could leave this place." Ilia said to the family she knew, promising them they would make it happen.

"We just need to help Weiss with her meeting." Blake quietly told Yang, stepping closer, knowing she wanted the help of the relic. Yang looked at the man slowly rolling from side to side on the ground, unable to even stand on his feet and not only because of the alcohol in him. Money was not the only thing he got fat on, as he waddled through life, barely giving those whose work he stood on enough to live their own.

"You know…I get him." Yang quietly wondered as he looked at him.

"Get…who?" Blanked slightly tilted her head.

"Adam." Yang met her surprised eyes. "I mean…it doesn't excuse anything he does. Or what he did." she briefly looked at her arm and did not only refer to what happened between them. "But…I get why he hates humans so much." she looked at the man, again, not even with disgust, but with some sympathy for the Faunus who wanted justice for the way they were being treated by such men. Blake looked at her with both understanding and some worry. "Hey, don't worry…" Yang could see it. "I'm good. I don't…" she sighed. "I'm trying not to be like…back in the dorms, with that girl. I don't want to scare you, again." she pointed at her. "And don't say I didn't." she quickly told Blake, who looked like she was going to act like it did not happen. She smiled at Yang, not only for making such an effort for her, but for openly telling her to not make her worry.

"Okay." she nodded at her.

"Now…" Yang smirked and stepped behind her, putting a hand around her waist. "Come on, _secretary_." she told her, leading her away.

"About that…" Blake's ears flopped down as she gave Yang a subtle, embarrassed glare and Yang giggled.

…

Winter kept track of where her sister headed off with Ruby, every time they moved on from a spot and rounded a street corner with team ORNJ to find them standing around a quiet food-vendor's high-table. Weiss was watching Ruby contently chew on some baked treat, with a smile, as they were nearly alone and unbothered by people or members of the press. The few that passed by either did not recognize them or dared not to approach.

"You don'even wan'any?" Ruby asked, with half her mouth full and her lack of manners did not even bother Weiss.

"Not right now." she told her with a smile, hands on the table, not wanting to let on she was nervous about the meeting ahead. They noticed the others and Ruby grinned, waving with a hand to them.

"At last, we found a peaceful spot." Ren commented.

"We're the only tourists!" Nora exclaimed, skipping ahead and twirling around, also enjoying the lack of a crowd.

"Luckily we're not…ordinary ones." Oscar replied.

"It's not exactly the best place for them, right now." Jaune said as they walked up to Ruby and Weiss.

Nora zipped in front of the Vendor and kept eyeing the selection of food up close.

"Weiss…" Winter stood next to her and she turned to look up her. "It's almost time." she reminded her and Weiss lowered her gaze back down, at the table.

"I know." she let out a nervous sigh, looking at her hands that she slightly clenched into fists, but Ruby's hands were on top of hers, in the next second and Weiss looked up at her smiling face.

"Don't worry! We're gonna be there _with you_!" Ruby told her and looking at her, Weiss could smile, as she had that same feeling, again.

"Not in plain sight, I'm afraid." Winter corrected her and they looked at her in surprise. "This is a meeting for Weiss, alone. The people she'll be meeting have no business with any of us. They may be intimidated, even by huntsmen-in-training and particularly by someone from the military, meaning myself."

"But, they know by now, we're all with her." Jaune gestured with a hand.

"Even still, it is Weiss they will talk with. But, perhaps a few of us _could_ stay. At a distance." she added.

"I can watch her back." Ruby took out Crescent Rose with a smirk and Weiss' eyes widened as Winter gave her a slightly disapproving look.

"Ruby…" Weiss nervously smiled and shook her head at her eagerness to defend her to such extent. "It won't be _that_ kind of meeting. We're not criminals meeting other criminals." she told her.

"There won't be a briefcase handcuffed to your hand, then?" Jaune joked, folding his arms.

"Hopefully not yet." Weiss said. "Or ever." she quickly added, never wanting to become a person who would be ever in that situation. Weiss and Ruby both jumped a little as their scrolls gave a notification sound and they checked them to see Yang had messaged them, addressed to the whole team.

"It's Sis!" Ruby exclaimed and looked at the text, along with Weiss, who suddenly got a little flustered.

 _On our way back, Sis! Grab your Princess! It's time for her ball!_

"She sent that to the whole team!" Weiss stated with a frown and Ruby began typing. Weiss followed suit and their bubbles appeared on their color-coded team-chat.

 _R: Got it! C U, Sis!_

 _W: Yang, you sent that to all of us!_

 _B: She sent it before I could warn her. Sorry!_

 _Y: Oops! XD_

Weiss sighed as she put her scroll away and Ruby pocketed hers, as well, still smiling and apparently having no reaction to her sister's message other than what she replied.

"We should head back to campus and meet up with the rest." Winter said. "We should also notify the General where we're going. Then we can take a shuttle to the facility."

"Wouldn't he want to come with us?" Ren asked.

"Yeah. Because of the relic?" Jaune asked Winter.

"He may have too many places to keep his attention on. He may not even approve of the location for our meeting." Winter said with some concern.

"Maybe we could tell him we would be able to guard the facility, at the same time." Ren suggested.

"That's right!" Jaune exclaimed. "It'd be one less thing for him to worry about." Winter looked like she was going to agree with them.

…

They made it back to the academy's courtyard and could see a shuttle coming in that they figured had the others onboard. Ruby stopped at the top of the stairs and got her scroll out.

"I'm gonna call Uncle Qrow and tell him where we're going." she said.

"Very well." Winter said. "We don't need to go all the way to the General's office, then." she thought it was a good alternative. In Ironwood's office Qrow was lounging in the cushioned corner chair, as he had his arms spread on the back of it and he was facing the ceiling with his eyes closed, just waiting for something to happen. Unlike Ironwood, who tried to busy himself with anything he could to not merely sit and wait. He kept checking and flicking through data from scouts and sensors, expecting, if not outright hoping, to see some irregularity they could follow up on that would, at least, be a sign their enemy was actually somewhere they could find them. Qrow's scroll started playing a generic ringtone and he lifted his head at the same time he took his scroll from his pocket to look at who was calling and raised a brow when he saw it was Ruby.

"Hey, Kiddo. What's up?" he answered and Ironwood payed attention, in case the call was about something important and Qrow listened for a few seconds, before replying. "That's _now_?"

"Yeah. Weiss is gonna meet 'em…" Ruby was saying, looking at Weiss as she talked. "And we're gonna be there to keep her safe." Weiss smiled at her. "And if they can tell us some shady stuff about the others and her dad, then we can uh… _defecate_ …them?" she scratched her head, having a feeling she misremembered the word and the wide, mortified, unblinking stares she was getting told her she was right. Ironwood raised a brow at the same expression on Qrow's face.

"She means _defamate_." Winter raised her voice for Qrow to hear, who finally blinked at the other end.

"Oh." he understood. "Yeah, well…if we can rid the Kingdom of 'em, it'll be the same thing, really!" he said, with a morose laugh and Winter did not look amused, while Ruby just looked confused.

"Uh...so, anyway..." Ruby went on and Ironwood waited as Qrow listened, wondering what he laughed at, but at the same time, he did not want to know.

"Mhm. Yeah, sure. I'll tell him." Qrow replied to something Ruby said, glancing at Ironwood. "Just don't start a fight. This ain't some mission where you gotta keep everyone away by shooting at 'em, 'kay kiddo." he smirked and held his scroll away from his ear.

"Everybody _keeps_ **saying** that!" Ruby exclaimed, more annoyed than offended and hung up with a growl. Qrow put his scroll back to his ear to hear the line was dead and chuckled at his niece.

"You don't have to shoot anyone just for my sake" Weiss told her, jokingly, but was also serious and appreciative about it. She never wanted Ruby, of all people, to go to extremes in order to protect her, even if the situation was dire.

"Well, maybe I want to." Ruby cutely argued, folding her arms and trying to sound stubborn.

"No you don't." Weiss shook her head with a smile.

"No..." Ruby admitted, putting her hands down and looked at her feet. Winter gave their exchange a slightly amused look.

"And what was _that_ about?" Ironwood asked Qrow.

"They're gonna have their little business meetin' at that special facility of yers." Qrow replied and Ironwood blinked in surprise than slightly narrowed his eyes. "It's one less thing ye have t' worry about. With them there, they'll be on-hand if anythin' happens, which shouldn't, since only we know what's really there. Right?" Ironwood let out a deep breath and leaned back in his chair. It was him silently agreeing.

...

At the Schnee Estate, Jacque was on the phone, listening to a business partner's complaint.

"They're animals, I tell you!" The voice still sounded drunk. "Even the ones that aren't Faunus! They were _your daughter's_ friends! Now, we know she's plotting something! I don't need to tell you that if she finds enough on us, it can ruin _all of us_ , including _you_ , Jacque! You'd better rein her in!"

"I already know about her little meeting. And I've already guaranteed, it won't go well for her. Rest assured, she'll be taken care of." Jacque ominously told the man.

"Fine! I don't need any details! Just make it go away!" came the reply and the call ended. Jacque looked at his scroll and speed-dialed another number. A rough, seasoned, male voice came on.

"Yes, Sir? Is there something wrong? Change of plans, perhaps?" he respectfully asked.

"Nothing of the sort. You and your men will proceed as discussed." Jacque quietly told him. "Unless _they_ change their plans." he added.

"Doesn't look that way, Sir. They just joined up with their friends." The voice said, having an eye on them. "They're talking about boarding a shuttle, soon. I'll let the others know to expect company. I'll call you when the deed is done, as always."

"Good." Jacque said and hung up.


	9. Chapter 9

Ch. 9 – All for One, One for All

Weiss stood at the entrance of the facility, with Winter, Klein and Ruby at her side, waiting for the potential partners to arrive, as team ORNJ guarded the perimeter, positioned in four corners, at the foot of the nearest buildings. Yang and Blake were inside the facility, close to the entrance and were peeking through a hatch on the door that was made exactly for that purpose. Minutes passed and as everyone grew more anxious half a dozen cars entered the compound, moving in a line as they came through the security gate. The guards were already informed by Ironwood to let them conduct their meeting and as a result no one was held up and questioned for long.

"I can see them." Ren spoke into his scroll.

"Same." Jaune said.

"Ditto!" Nora exclaimed.

"This is going to drain our batteries, fast." Jaune muttered.

"Probably." Ren replied.

 _"Requesting radio silence..."_ Ruby whispered in a serious tone, as if quoting a phrase she heard, when a situation got serious.

"Uh...Ruby..." Ren started.

"That means you won't communicate." Winter told her.

"Oh. Then no silence!" Ruby corrected herself and Weiss smiled at how seriously she was trying to take the situation, in her own quirky way.

"It looks like they're all talking." Oscar said, from the corner he was guarding. "I really need to get one of those scrolls." he was saying to both himself and Ozpin. They could see the black cars all varied in size and there were two limousines among them. They stopped in the middle of the empty yard and their drivers got out and moved around to open the doors. Men and women, anywhere between forty and sixty years of age, got out, all dressed for the occasion. There were almost a dozen of them and all of them looked considerably more confident and relaxed than Weiss, who composed herself as they started walking towards them.

"I smell small fish." Yang muttered to Blake as their two pair of eyes were the only things visible of them. "Hey, you wanna go get some, after this?" Yang's eyes looked at Blake's, which widened from the sudden offer and she stammered.

"Um...o-okay. Sure." she nodded.

"I knew that." Yang snickered and Blake remembered she could hear everyone's thoughts, now that they were close to the relic, again.

"Um...can you hear them, too?" she asked Yang.

"Sure can." The latter nodded, as she heard Winter, in particular.

 _"She never had performance anxiety."_ Winter was looking at Weiss. _"This time, her audience is small, but their review can decide the fate of the company."_

 _"I can do this."_ Weiss was thinking, as she looked at their faces, some were stern, while others looked friendly. _"They_ _ **need**_ _me to take control of the company. And even if they'll want more out of it, later, I can worry about the details, after it's mine. I just...have to be calm. Assert myself. And I'm not alone."_ she thought and looked at Klein, her sister and Ruby, who nodded and smiled at her, reassuringly and Weiss drew strength from it. She turned towards the people who stopped in front of them and took a few steps.

"Let's begin." Weiss said.

Five armed figures clad in full-body, pitch-black combat gear were kneeling on a nearby rooftop, with two of them in front of the others. One with his arms spread to both sides, as if he was making some effort, while the fifth was in front, with his head turned to the side, as if he was listening to something.

"We don't usually do this stuff in the daylight, you know." The one on the left commented.

"That's why you got me." The one with his arms spread said over his shoulder and since no one on the ground could even see them, even though they could have at the height they were at, he was likely creating an invisibility field with his semblance.

"This is the best setup we get." The one in the middle spoke. "We have to stop this little meeting, take that princess and send a message to the others not to betray the boss, again."

"Should be easy." The one on the right said. "The only one who's a threat is the specialist. The kids won't be a problem."

"Just in case…we brought some extra numbers, this time…to even us out." The middle one spoke, again and a pair of men came out of hiding, on two of the roofs on either side of the meeting spot. Two more, on the roof across from them that was the facility's building, where the guards have already been knocked out by tranquilizer darts and were dragged out of sight, along with the ones around the facility. The ten men formed a diamond-shape, as they surrounded the meeting spot from four angles. "You're still hearing them?" the middle one said to the one in the front.

"Loud and clear." he replied, apparently able to hear the meeting from that distance, likely with his semblance and without the visible aid of any device.

Yang stepped away from the hatch as she felt the same strange feeling she did the last time they were at the facility.

"Are you okay?" Blake stepped back to ask as a shadow, peeking from one of the doors pulled back. "Can you…hear what they're thinking?" Emerald's eyes widened in alarm at the question.

"I'm getting that weird feeling, again." Yang said and Emerald listened to their exchange. "And…something else." Yang shook her head. "Everyone's thinking too much. I gotta sort them out. Hang on..." Yang concentrated and Emerald suddenly felt threatened by her presence. If Yang could really read minds, then she was in danger of being exposed, even if she was using her semblance.

" _Good, she is keeping herself composed and assertive."_ Winter thought, as Weiss was thanking them for seeing her and started talking about how she knew they were putting themselves on the line by doing so.

" _You're doing great, Weiss!"_ Ruby was cheering her on, only in her head, not wanting to do it out loud.

" _Steady, now."_ Klein was also rooting and Yang tried to concentrate more and was sensing some minds she had not before.

" _She's not exactly a nervous wreck, but she is definitely putting on a brave face."_ A woman thought.

" _She has no experience in this area. Hmhm. And probably many others."_ Another woman mentally laughed. _"But, at least, she is determined. And that goes a long way."_

" _She certainly sounds driven."_ A man was thinking. _"But can she really assume control? What about her studies?"_

" _She has yet to even graduate."_ Another was thinking the same. _"Surely it will interfere with a career."_

" _Alright…everyone is in position. This will be quick._ " An entirely different, smooth thought was caught by Yang, who got alarmed.

" _Let's start already. Bag that girl and get our Lien wired."_ Another dangerous thought, by someone else came to her.

" _I can't keep this field up forever. Don't these guys know by now?"_ A third voice further roused Yang's suspicion. _"Just call the attack, damn it."_

" _Sounds like they're done with the introductions."_ A fourth voice thought and the one who had his ears on them, turned to their leader, on the roof.

"They're taking the meeting inside. We have to strike." he told him and got a nod from the one in charge. He spoke into their comm-link, addressing all of them.

"Pick the target closest to you and neutralize." he smoothly ordered them. "Except for the specialist. She's mine." he added and targeted Winter.

"Damn it...!" Yang exclaimed and jumped to the door's control panel, slamming a fist on it. The doors parted and she ran out, just as Winter put a hand to the side of her neck and pulled a dart from it, in surprise. She had no reason to activate her aura and was not ready to deflect an attack. "It's an ambush!" Yang screamed as Winter fell to her knees, passing out. The students all heard, even team ORNJ, who were spread out.

" _Oscar."_ Ozpin started, but Oscar's aura already flashed into action.

"I know." Oscar said, out loud and took the cane out. Jaune drew his sword and shield, immediately deflecting some darts, while Ren and Nora agilely jumped and rolled out of their way. Oscar twirled the cane batting away the projectiles as all of team ORNJ made their way back to the center, where Ruby was blocking the shots by spinning her scythe, while Weiss surrounded herself and Klein with Glyphs. The latter was already kneeling above Winter's unconscious form.

"Klein! Take my sister and the others inside! Hurry!" she told him.

"Right away!" Klein picked Winter up and looked at the would-be business associates to see their drivers were already incapacitated and a quarter of them were being carried by the others. Weiss danced in, between them, summoning Glyphs to cover their retreat as they hauled one another to safety. Yang was blocking with her cybernetic arm and Blake dashed around leaving her shadow-clones for them to hit and waste their shots on. Yang covered behind one of Weiss' glyphs, still trying to pick up thoughts as Klein and the others made it inside, where Emerald was suddenly overwhelmed trying to keep her illusion up over all of them.

" _Damn it! I have to get out of here!"_ Yang's eyes widened as she thought she heard a familiar voice.

"There's two on the roof, there!" Blake shouted, pointing out one of the groups.

"Two over there!" Oscar pointed to two more. Ren and Nora glanced around and the former looked up to see two men on the roof directly above them.

"Above us!" he exclaimed and rolled out of the way of their shots and the darts broke apart on the hard ground, the tranquilizing liquid in them spilling out from the cracked vials. Nora growled and aimed her weapon upwards. Emerald appeared in the entrance and was momentarily surprised as Nora fired a grenade that hit the side of the roof, breaking chunks off of it and blew the two men away.

"What the-…!?" the leader of the group exclaimed in surprise, starting to grow frustrated with their lack of efficiency. He watched as the debris almost hit a female officer, who bolted from the door. _"Who the hell is that?"_ Yang heard him think. "We got another target. She's heading east!

"What are you talking about? No one's coming our way!" one of the man on that roof replied.

"We can't even hit any of these damn kids! I thought you said this will be easy!" the other added.

"She's running right towards you!" their leader raised his voice. _"Damn it! Can't they see her!? She ran right past them!"_ Yang heard him again and kept looking in the direction he was thinking about, seeing no one but Oscar, as he stopped in his dodging to glance around himself, as if he, too, sensed something, before he continued to evade the darts. Ren looked at the two men on the roof closest to them.

"Nora!" he called for her, nodding towards them.

"Ruby!" Weiss formed a cylinder with her glyphs, aimed at the other two men, who were still arguing with their leader. Nora ran towards Jaune, who crouched to let her launch herself in the air by firing into his shield that propelled her to the roof above, where the two men she took out, were lying unconscious. She briefly admired her handy-work and her smirk widened into vicious as she turned towards the two surprised shooters, with a clear line of sight on them, from where there was no chance of her grenade missing and flying past them, as it might have if she had fired from the ground. She launched one, demolishing the corner of the roof, sending one of the assailants flying backwards, while the other fell off the roof, screaming, only for his fall to be broken by a long-range shot from Yang's Ember Celica. The blast slammed him against the buildings wall, slowing his rapid descent and instead of quite possibly meeting his demise, he only suffered a few broken ribs and limbs. As brutal as the combo was, he was better off, on the long run, even if he would not be able to run, after that.

Ruby fired a shot through Weiss' row of glyphs and hit the weapon of one of the two gunmen, snap-freezing it solid, along with both of his arms, nearly up to his shoulders.

"HOLY SH-...!" The other's swearing was cut-off as he was hit next and the two of them awkwardly stumbled trying to break free and hoping their arms would not suffer proper frostbite.

"Gods Almighty!" one of the business women was watching through the hatch on the door.

"Damn it!" The leader of the pack lost his nerve.

"These kids are no pushovers! They're damn _pros_!" The guy on his left panicked.

"I can't hold my field for much longer!" The one with the cloaking semblance warned them. Yang was looking around as she kept hearing their racing thoughts, trying to deduce where they were.

"There's more of them!" she yelled and listened. They held their fire, mostly from shock, rather than being told to, as soon as their comrades were picked off.

" _That little red one with the Schnee is a deadeye."_ Yang finally heard him and inched closer to Ruby. _"Look away little girl…"_ he waited until Ruby turned her attention elsewhere. _"Now."_ Yang saw something gleam in the air and she barely had enough time to block the dart with her cybernetic arm. _"What!?"_ To the man's surprise, Yang saw the direction the dart came from.

"Up there!" she pointed directly at them. Nora heard her on the roof and took aim, opening her remaining three chambers, then let the grenades loose.

"No way!"

"Move!"

"Damn it!"

"Damn them!"

They yelled and scattered in five different direction. The one with the good ears could only go in one direction, otherwise he would have ran straight into the blast zone. Those on the ground suddenly saw five black figures run from the middle and one of them nearly bolted off the roof. The grenades hit, saturating the spot they were at and the man was desperately clinging to the edge of the roof, holding on for his life.

"Weiss! Pinball!" Ruby took a stance and Weiss was momentarily puzzled, but then recalled a move they never got to use much in actual combat, back at Beacon. But, now that Ruby's semblance had also evolved, it was the perfect opportunity. She formed a set of glyphs that Ruby used to zig-zag all the way to the roof and above, after which Weiss made new glyphs that Ruby could bounce back from. She started slamming into the fleeing mercenaries, hitting every one of them, multiple times, as she kept ricocheting off new glyphs, while Weiss tried to keep up and put more of them up for her. She was too late with one, gasping in worry, as Ruby soared high in the air, while the last remaining mercenary limped away. Ruby stopped ascending and started falling back. She threw her rifle behind her and fired, using the momentum to accelerate herself, then her semblance to reach the man and knocked him out cold.

"YES!" she cheered in victory, to Weiss' utter bafflement, who was even more surprised when Ruby used her semblance to shoot off from the roof, arcing in the air, all the way to them. Even though Weiss should have seen it coming, she was still caught off guard, as Ruby burst forth from all her petals to crush her in a hug. "HAHA! PINBALL PRINCESS WORKED!" she screamed in delight as Weiss stood staring wide-eyed at her, unable to move. The others shared her reaction.

…

"Why aren't they making a move?" Ironwood was looking out his window. "What could they be waiting for?"

"Fer that big fish t' grow legs, maybe." Qrow shrugged as Ironwood gave him a small glare. "What? I heard some people saw sea-dragons sprout wings from their backs. And there's _way_ weirder stuff out there no combat school has ever heard of, let alone had a class on." he pointed.

"You don't have to tell _me_." Ironwood meaningfully told him and was likely referring to his lost limbs.

"Oh…right." Qrow got his meaning. "In any case, I haven't heard of any mole-like Grimm that tunnel underground. Have you?" he wondered and Ironwood gave him a strange look.

"You already made that joke." he turned to look out the window, again.

"What joke?" Qrow asked, not following him.

"The mole Grimm. You already said that, yesterday." Ironwood told him.

"No I didn't." Qrow replied. He would have remembered something like that.

"You came in to ask me about the relic, or have you had a bit too much to drink after?" Ironwood sniped at him and Qrow leaned forward, pulling his arms back down.

"Me? Maybe you've been hitting yer own stash. I never even came in here, yesterday. We just talked out on the corridor, right after you did your business in one of the restrooms." Qrow told him.

"What do you mean my…" he turned to him. "I have my own restroom for that." Ironwood said, as if it was obvious he would use his own private one.

"Yeah. And I asked you 'bout that. You said you were on yer way back from somewhere and you needed t' quickly check somethin'. Then you asked me how this whole reincarnation thing works fer the kid and Oz. Ring a bell?" Qrow explained.

"No." Ironwood firmly stated. "When was this?"

"After the ceremony. I helped the kids out with their little mission and was goin' t' talk you. Then I ran into you outside."

"I have no memory of this." Ironwood said. "I think I would remember. You're saying we've talked outside my office. On the corridor."

"Yeah. By the window." Qrow added.

"I only talked to you in here. Why don't _you_ remember that?" Ironwood asked.

"I dunno. Why don't _you_ remember we didn't?" Qrow asked, even though the question made no sense that way.

"If I didn't talk to you…and you didn't talk to me, then…who did we both talk to?" Ironwood asked as the alarms went off, again. He looked at his screen to see a disturbance at the facility.

…

After making sure she was a good distance away from the fight and no one could hear or see her Emerald reached Watts, again.

"We've got another problem." she started.

"Ye-e-e-s, it seems they're begin-ning to catch on to you'h little mind tricks." Watts said, the connection stuttering and breaking off, occasionally stretching some of the word.

" _What_? How d-d-o you know?" Emerald asked.

"The listening device I ha-a-a-d you plant in the Ge…neral's office, of course. He and Qrow Branwen were just dissss-scussing…certain conversations neithe'h of them remembe'h having."

"You said all those gadgets you had me put everywhere also wiped the cameras!" Emerald replied.

"Correct." Watts said. "The proxieeee…es you placed to allow me remote access are working. They stumbled onto th…ese _discrepancies_ with each otheh's memory purely by accident."

"Great…" Emerald dryly said. "Well, we've got an even _bigger_ problem, then!" she exclaimed and Watts raised a brow.

...

Police officers, as well as military personnel, were canvassing the immediate area of the attack, taping off and preventing access to the public and anyone without any authority, including the media, who were gathered outside the zone, hoping for a bone to be thrown their way. Paramedics were tending to the businessmen and women, their drivers, plus Winter, who they administered a serum to that neutralized the effects of the tranquilizer, bringing her back to consciousness in a matter of minutes. Her white aura flashed, indicating she was actively using it to act together with the shot she was given and she slowly opened her eyes to see Weiss standing over the stretcher she was put on.

"Weiss...!" she tried to sit up too fast and had to stop to do it less hastily as her head was still hazy.

"Miss Schnee...!" One of the women from the people she planned to convince walked up to Weiss. "Rest assured this meeting was far from being as disastrous as it may seem, at the moment. I don't know how sincere my associates were in their approach, but you have _my_ sworn word I will lend you any support I can, against your father."

"Especially since he was most likely behind this attack." One of the men walked up.

"What?" Weiss stared and so did Winter.

"Yes. I'm ashamed I have been silent for far too long. I have seen his...methods for dealing with people who posed a threat to him and his more influential partners. I can say without offending anyone here, none of us fall into the category of the most influential of individuals, despite our wealth and appearance. I'm sure you had your suspicion that some of us aimed to change that by allying ourselves with you. That is, until this attempted intimidation. Now, I'm doing it as I am indebted to do so. With that said, you may want to interrogate these mercenaries and I'm fairly certain the information will lead you straight to your father." he graciously told her.

"He's right!" Yang spoke, before remembering how and what she actually knew. "I mean...maybe they were trying to kidnap you! For your dad." she told Weiss, as she did hear the leader of the group thinking of their objective, but she could not let others know that.

"I'm afraid what they're suggesting isn't a stretch of the imagination, my dear." Klein told Weiss. Winter got off the stretcher, still a bit unsteady on her legs.

"I will interrogate them myself." she stated with a cold glare and went towards the police units, where the ten unmasked men were kneeling on the ground in a row, being unsuccessfully questioned. "I will take over from here." she declared and some of the mercenaries visibly tensed up.

"Well, that didn't exactly go as planned." Blake told Yang, sympathetically.

"Yeah, well... _what_ plan?" Yang shrugged, as she was mostly making it all up as they went, as always. "But, maybe it's even better this way." she realized. "If they'll talk, we can just get Weiss' dad in jail for trying to kidnap her. He basically did the work for us." she shrugged to Weiss, who also saw it.

"Maybe." Weiss could not relax, yet. "We still have to take this to my father." she narrowed her eyes, looking in front of her.

"As we've told you..." the same woman started. "We will all gladly testify over today's events and everything else we know of and can prove."

"You'll have witnesses, in addition to any incriminating information you may have already collected." the man said and Weiss still looked anxious for what would have to happen next.

...

"How the hell-l-l-l-...c-can blondie...e...ven...r...ead minds!?" Mercury was asking, over some interference.

"How would I know!?" Emerald exasperatedly asked in return. "Maybe it's the r...r...r...elic. She was the...one who brought it up fr...om the vault at Haven."

"I suppose comin...g...g into cont...act with it could...'ave granted her unexpect-te-ted abilities." Watts said.

"Why is the s...s-sig...nal so bad?" Emerald asked.

"We are well unde'h...de'h...ground. It is expected." Watts pointed out as the sub was already in-land, literally. Drilling its way towards the vault with its high-powered lasers, every capacitor on the head, revolving to cut a path the sub could easily pass through, as the gravel was being displaced behind it. "All the dust and the facilities that run beneath the capital are creating some inte'hference."

"Sounds like it's gonna take a while for you to get here." Emerald impatiently, but also somewhat mockingly replied.

"Not to worry. We're well on schedule." Watts assured her.

"So, where's the backup you said I'd get?" Emerald asked and somewhere closer to the capital Adam motionlessly clung to the top of a small patrol ship that was heading for the city, as the cold formed a layer of frost on his body to which he had no reaction to, at all.

"On his way." Watts replied. The only sign that Adam was even alive was his breath that could be seen in the cold air.

...

"So...Pinball Princess...?" Yang was asking her sister on the shuttle, as they were flying towards the center, with the rest of the authorities following them on the ground, their sirens blaring. Ruby and Weiss were sitting, while Yang and Blake stood, facing them, holding the rails above and team ORNJ was sitting separately from them. Winter was between, looking perturbed.

"What's wrong with it?" Ruby replied to Yang.

"I mean, it's cool and all. If the Princess is okay with it." Yang smirked at Weiss and Ruby turned to her for her answer.

"I..." Weiss started. "I don't know." she shrugged. "You clearly don't even need my glyphs, anymore." she told Ruby, somewhat sad. Ruby blinked in surprise, then sheepishly smiled, as she really could use her own semblance more easily to that effect.

"Well, uh, maybe...not for that." she lowered her head, but raised it back up, leaning closer to Weiss. "But, like I said, I still have tons of ideas and..." she paused to continue more quietly. "I'll always need my partner." she stated and gave Weiss a wide grin that caused the latter to nearly tear up, also making her aware of some strange feeling in her stomach.

...

From the window of Ironwood's office, he and Qrow spotted the entourage they were travelling with and saw they were not heading for the landing pads at the academy.

"Where're they goin?" Qrow asked and Ironwood already knew.

"I have a good guess." he said.

...

On the shuttle, Yang moved up to Winter.

"Hey, so did you actually get anything out of those guys? I think they were more scared of talking than they were of you." she told her, as she could still hear their thoughts, while they were at the facility.

"Let's just say we're fortunate those associates are willing to testify. We cannot directly tie my father to the mercenaries and the scrolls the police have confiscated from them must have automatically deleted any communication logs. There is no record of their interactions with anyone. I may have to...bluff and make our father believe the mercenaries gave him up. It's going to be a gamble." Winter was not comfortable with it, but it was the only way to trap her father.

"At least, most of those business people...seemed sincere." Yang did not want to say for certain, to avoid suspicion. "I got the feeling they were just in it for themselves from only a couple of them." she shrugged. "And those mercs are probably just scared they wouldn't make it to prison if they'd talk. If we can get your dad arrested, they might just fold and have something to say by the time the whole thing, like, gets to court."

"Since when are _you_ so insightful?" Winter asked, a little impressed.

"Eh." Yang shrugged. "Call it a woman's intuition. Maybe you...don't have it." she smirked and Winter was speechlessly glaring at her, squaring her jaw, as Yang was implying she lacked certain feminine qualities. It did not seem to faze Yang.

...

By the time they landed, an escort of police officers were already leading Jacque to the front of the estate, without any cuffs and he calmly played along, believing they had nothing substantive against him. Weiss and Winter led their group to meet him and stopped as they met halfway.

"I do hope, for your sake, you actually have enough substance to justify this farce." Jacque calmly told them. "Otherwise, you're wasting my time."

"You're going to be _serving_ time, Father." Winter started. "In case you haven't noticed, Weiss is here, safe and sound." Jacque slightly narrowed his eyes, not liking what she was implying, but was still not sure if it was what he thought. "You underestimated her abilities, both as a woman of business and as a huntress."

"And so did the men you sent to capture me." Weiss stepped forward and Jacque's eyes narrowed even more. "They took some convincing...and more." she glanced at Winter. "But, in the end they made the right choice. And told us the right names. _One_ in particular."

"You overreached." Winter said and Jacque listened to her with a darkening expression. "If you had just left us to our own devices, everything we gathered might still not have been enough and you could have washed your hands of everything. Every charge the court could've dismissed. Especially if you had made the payments to the right people, as you and your associates often did in the past. The way one of them proudly divulged." she glanced at Yang, who smugly folded her arms. "But, you couldn't stand not doing anything, because the longer Weiss was out there, openly defying you, the more it hurt your ego and your reputation. And you had to resort to extremes. You actually had _your own daughter_ kidnapped, by professional mercenaries, who you've used in the past, as well." With every sentence, Jacque's calm facade was melting away.

"We wouldn't have known you were even involved. We didn't think you could actually go this far." Weiss told him, letting him know he caused his own demise. "So, thank you, for doing the work for us." She nodded at the officer behind him, who prepared the cuffs.

"Jacque Schnee..." he started, as Jacque's eyes twitched. "You are under arrest, on charges of Faunus-trafficking, bribery, coercion, kidnapping...-"

"Wait!" Weiss held up a hand, as only one cuff was put on. She stepped closer.

"As the descendant of Nicholas, a Schnee by name and by blood and as the rightful heir to the Schnee Dust Company, I hereby use my right to relieve you, Jacque Gelé of the Schnee name and all of its privileges." Jacque's face contorted into rage and with his free hand grabbed Weiss by her throat, threw her to the ground and raised his hand, crossing it in front of himself for a back-handed slap, but a glyph appeared on his wrist and encased his hand in ice. Jacque let out a surprised, painful groan.

"You'll never touch her, ever again!" Winter hissed, with her sword raised towards him and all the officers took several steps back for their own safety, Weiss was still on the ground, with Ruby going to her side to help her up, when Jacque lunged at Weiss, again.

"No!" Ruby tried to stand and step in his path, but Jacque savagely swung his iced hand, hitting her in the side of the head and Ruby hit ground, a few paces away, as Jacque clutched his frozen hand in pain. Weiss stared as Ruby was facing towards her with blood trickling down from the side of her temple.

"Ruby…!" she whispered in panic, then turned towards her father, as the others reached for their weapons, but by the time they all drew them, he was suddenly lifted from the ground, dangling helplessly as a black glyph appeared on his chest. Weiss' face was a mirror of her father's enragement, as the latter cried out in pain, while his torso was being crushed. Her eyes burned and her lips quivered as Weiss held his very life in her hands, until she heard the voice that always seemed to bring her back from that dark place.

"Weiss…" She turned to Ruby to see she was conscious and looking at her, as the other and Winter knelt beside her. "Don't…" she pleaded with her. She turned back to her father, struggling with her emotions, who stopped writhing in pain as she was not applying any pressure on him, at that moment.

Ruby rolled onto her back and sat up and Weiss noticed the blood running down her face again and instead of becoming even angrier, it made her stop and go to her, as Jacque landed back on his wobbling feet. Weiss fell on her knees as she reached out towards the wound on Ruby's head as the latter's red aura flashed on.

"I'm okay…" Ruby said, signifying she was healing herself, but her eyes slightly moved to look behind Weiss and they widened.

"Rrrraaaggh!" They all turned to see Jacque was nearly foaming from the mouth as he raised his frozen hand high above him, moving to strike Weiss, his own daughter, down, in uncontrolled rage. Before Winter or anyone else could react, Ruby instinctively did what she was good at and whipped her rifle in front of herself and fired off a nearly deafening shot that stopped everyone's breath. Silence feel, as wide eyes watched pieces of reddened ice scatter on the ground. Jacque stumbled, veering off to the side and raised his hand to find only a still frozen stump that began to melt from the warm blood it kept from gushing forth. His pupils dilated as he went into shock and his knees buckled, making him fall on them. To Weiss' horror she saw almost the same expression on Ruby's face, when she turned to her.

"I-I didn't…mean to…" Ruby's unblinking eyes started tearing up, thinking she did something horrible and Weiss' heart sank as the thought of Ruby blaming herself, her pure, innocent soul being tainted, threatened to break her psyche and she got in front of her, blocking her from seeing Jacque.

"No, no…!" she cupped Ruby's face in her hands. "T-this isn't your fault." she started telling her as she tried to make her look her in the eye. "Look at me. Look at me!" Ruby meet her desperate gaze. "You were just protecting me. You've done nothing wrong! _Nothing!_ Do you hear me!?" They heard Jacque's whimpering as the paramedics rushed in, with news crews and reporters preparing their equipment as fast as they could. Weiss turned to see they were bringing a stretcher for her father. "Get him out of here!" she yelled in a broken voice and turned back to Ruby to see she was calming down. Weiss' tears could not be held by the well of her eyes anymore. She shut them tight and hugged Ruby even tighter, as a weight she carried for most of her life, suddenly lifted. Ruby hugged her back, for long seconds, then opened her eyes, in surprise, when she felt another person's arm around her and she blinked up to see Winter embracing both of them, with her own tears nearly flowing. She reached with her gloved hand up to Ruby's head and gently pulled her close to her, as she did the same with Weiss.

The sounds of the paramedics instructing one another, news anchors frantically coordinating with their crews, reporters throwing a thousand questions at the wall of officers and soldiers slowly came back on, from where it all faded for them. They stood, Weiss and Ruby pulling each other to their feet with Winter still having her hands on their shoulders, as their father's shouting caught their ears. Jacque was being loaded into the paramedics' van and has come out of his shock, with a tourniquet on his arm and bandages wrapped on the stump.

"You won't get away with this!" he was screaming and thrashing in the straps of the stretcher. "You can't do this to me!" he continued and spotted Whitley standing in the entrance of the estate, with his hands behind his back, looking disturbingly calm with the hint of a smile on his face. "Whitley!" Jacque called out to him. "Whitley! Call my lawyer!" he told him. "We can beat this! You're still my son!" he tried to feebly reach out with a strapped down hand, but to his further humiliation and utter surprise, Whitley merely stood with the same expression and from that distance, it looked as if he scoffed, not caring about his fall. "Whitley!?" Jacque stared, realizing in that moment that his parenting with him had been the success he hoped for and now wished it had not been, as the boy, groomed to be like him, was exactly as heartless and opportunistic as him. "Whitleeey!" The latter turned away from his father's screams that were muffled as he disappeared into the van. He saw his father's loss of freedom as his own to gain. He was free to step out of his shadow with all the knowledge and mindset he had imparted on him. Even if the company was not his to inherit, after all, he was ready to persevere in the equally unforgiving world of business his father raised him for. And he had no need of him, anymore.

In a darkened, lavishly decorated and furnished room within the Estate, sitting in a chair, away from the sun's light that still shined through the window, a feminine figure let out a sob and raised a hand to wipe her tears away, as the television was showing a live-broadcast of the events that were happening in front of the estate. She watched her daughters in their embrace and the man who ruined their family being taken away to be caged, like a rabid animal. Her quiet crying barely disturbed the silence of the room.

On another television set, in the General office, that latter watched with Qrow the same events unfolding, as they stood in the middle of the room.

"About the damn time." Qrow commented.

"This will blow up in the news. The other kingdoms will hear of it, by the end of the day." Ironwood said.

"What? Ya seriously got some messenger ships that run relay with the news?" Qrow asked, only jokingly.

"How do you think we knew what happened in Mistral, before you even got here." Ironwood rhetorically replied. "But, let's not get distracted." he changed the topic. "I'm glad for the Schnees, but we have a problem. It's clear we have been infiltrated. And by someone who can disguise themselves as us, no less."

"I might have an idea 'bout that." Qrow immediately said and Ironwood raised a brow. "But, we need t' talk to the kids, first. Just t' compare notes."

"This can't wait, Qrow." Ironwood pressed him. "I know they've just been through an ordeal, but we have to know what we're dealing with. _**I**_ have to know." he stressed.

"Hh. Fine. I'll tell ya on the way." Qrow replied with a sigh. "Let's get over there." he turned and started to leave. "Didn't think I'd be goin' back t' the Schnee's place. Hmph." he shook his head.

"When were you even there?" Ironwood asked and Qrow stopped to raise a brow at him, before both of them were reminded they might not have had certain conversations. Qrow started ahead, again. "Wait…" Ironwood said and Qrow stopped.

"What?" he turned.

"If that really wasn't you in my office, yesterday, then…." Ironwood realized Qrow actually did not know of the drastic security measures he had placed around the underground vault. "I…" he sighed. "Damn it." he cursed, also realizing whoever he talked to knew about it and was sure to exploit it.

"What?" Qrow asked, again, impatiently.

"I have to tell you something, first." Ironwood said and Qrow turned around completely, having a feeling he will not like where their conversation was about to go.

…

"I can't believe it's really over." Winter stated, as she stood with her sister and Ruby, watching the ambulance's sirens and lights fade and disappear. She turned towards their estate. "It's yours, now, Weiss. Even if you had enough of it." she told her and Weiss silently looked at it all. With her father gone, it was as if a stifling, dreary fog of lifelessness has instantly lifted.

She looked at Ruby and stepped in front of her, taking hold of her hand, as she gave her a searching gaze. "Are you okay?" she squeezed her hand. "I don't want you to think about this. You didn't do anything wrong. I don't want you to think that." Ruby averted her eyes, looking down, still unsure.

"Look..." Weiss stepped closer. "Jaune told me more about that guy who came after you, when we were in Mistral." Ruby looked up at her. "That you cut off his tail to protect your uncle." Ruby did not even consider that she effectively cut a limb off Tyrian. "This isn't any different, just because he's my father or because it was his hand." Weiss pointed out, shaking her head. "You have to promise me you won't let this bother you." she pleaded with her. "I...I couldn't live with myself if you did." Ruby's eyes widened, as did Winter's. "My father hurt us enough." Weiss glared at the ground, then looked up. "And I'm not going to let you...or anyone be... _haunted_ by him." She thought of the best way to describe what she feared. "He's _gone_." she continued. "And everything will only be better from here. So promise me." she raised Ruby's hand with her own, in front of her chest and Ruby could see it in her eyes that she needed her to leave it behind. She took a second to understand what she did was not a crime and not a horrible thing, before she nodded with a small, but sincere smile.

"I promise." Ruby said and saw the relief on Weiss' face as she smiled at her words, which made Ruby feel, then, more than ever, that she needed to handle it as she did everything else so far. For her own sake and for the sake of her friend. Their gazing was broken by Yang's voice.

"Looks like our princess got her throne back!" she exclaimed as she joined them with Blake and ORNJ.

"Yeah. You did it, Weiss." Ruby nudged her with a smile and Weiss looked at her and unconsciously took her hand, again.

" _We_ did it." Weiss nodded and turned to the others. "Thank you." she said in a small, heartfelt voice, with a slight bow. "All of you." she added and straightened back up.

"We were in the neighborhood." Yang waved it off.

"Now we're really _are_ in your neighborhood!" Jaune exclaimed, taking in the size of the Schnee Estate.

"You're...all welcome to look around." Weiss gestured. "If you want."

"Is it as _clean_ as the dorms?" Nora asked, putting a finger under her chin.

"Yes." Weiss replied.

"Oh." Nora acknowledged, adjusting her skirt, then grabbed Ren. "Hehe. Come on!" she exclaimed and started towards the entrance.

"I will try to keep her from breaking anything." Ren quickly told Weiss as Nora dragged him off.

"Well..." Weiss hesitantly called after them. "Not the piano!" she said, as it was the only thing she valued that she considered to be hers and had an attachment to. She sighed. "It's not like I'll have any more recitals." She was also resigned to the instrument's possible fate.

"Hey, I'm pretty good with a guitar." Yang thumbed at herself. "We could make a killing on stage." she folded her arms and Weiss briefly envisioned their whole team, as a band. It was a scary thought.

"I'm just gonna find the nearest restroom." Jaune said.

"First door on the left, behind the booth." Weiss told him. "The receptionist might be difficult to deal with." she added.

"I'll go in and clear up any misunderstandings." Winter said. "I have to speak with mother." she added for Weiss, who blinked in surprise, then nodded. It was rare they talked, even when her sister was not away on duty. Oscar seemed surprised by something, as well. Likely whatever Ozpin may have said.

"I'll go with...Jaune." Oscar said and went after him, seeming like he picked him at the last second.

"I'm gonna find and take a nap on your bed." Yang told Weiss, who raised a brow. "I wonder how soft it is. Is it bigger than all our Beacon beds together?" she jokingly asked, but was surprised when Weiss actually looked, not only like she was thinking about it, but that the answer was a positive one. "Get out!" Yang exclaimed and Weiss had a small smirk, as she was not even lying about it. "Hey, do you have fish in your freezer or...freezers?" Yang asked, winking at Blake.

"We always have _fishcakes_." Weiss offered, instead.

"Cool!" Yang said, leading Blake off, by the waist and the latter had an embarrassed smile.

"Yang, we don't have to-..." Blake did not want to intrude.

"Yeah, we do!" Yang smilingly stated, as they headed inside.

"I shall see if I can prepare a meal for all of you." Klein said and started inside, towards the kitchen.

"Weiss..." Winter looked at her sister. "You have to address the situation, before doing anything else." She referred to the media and the crowd they could hear and see outside the gate and fence. Weiss looked somewhat dismayed. "Can you handle it?" Winter asked.

"Hh. Well..." Weiss sighed. "It's not that I can or can't." she stated. "I have to." Weiss knew that as she looked at all of them, seeing not only who was there, physically, the media and the press, but the people who counted on her. The Faunus, the workers, the people of her kingdom who needed her to bring change. She looked at Ruby. "You can look around if you want to." Weiss knew she did. "I'll find you." Ruby nodded with a smile and Weiss briefly held her hand, brushing against it, as she confidently approached the waiting crowd to address them and the kingdom.

On every news outlet, every station, radio, television, public and military, the voice and face of Weiss Schnee could be heard and seen by the people of Atlas, following the shocking news of her father's arrest. Even classes stopped, in every school, as the teachers switched on whatever device they had in the classroom and the older students, particularly at the academy, took out their scrolls to watch and listen. In the Arts Wing's buffet, team SSSN and Ilia were watching with team FNKI. The Faunus in the workers' district gathered around those of their brethren who had a radio to not miss the moment their lives would finally change for the better. Weiss began talking about a new direction she was going to take the company in and promised to everyone who had ever been ruined and oppressed by her father's actions and greed that they would receive justice. And those who could be tied to him would also meet the same fate as her father. That no money and no influence would save them from their comeuppance. Leaving the borders of the kingdom, after receiving the news, as far as the CCT could transmit them, the messenger ships were splitting the cold air as they sped towards the continents of Anima and Sanus, as well as Menagerie.

The Schnee business-empire, as most of the people have known it for the last few decades, was done. And the one who would lead it into a brighter future, for all of Remnant, was just starting. Weiss was giving an ultimatum for the rest of the businessmen that preyed upon the kingdom, telling them that either all of them could fall together, every last corrupt individual be exposed and removed or only a few of them. Many could be given leniency in their sentencing. Some could avoid it all by being forthcoming with information that could help serve justice. Those that knew the shoe fit were wise enough to heed her warning, believing, then, she was, or could eventually be, just as much of a force to be reckoned with as her father.

…

In his office, Ironwood sighed, looking at the news. "This could give the people something to feel…better about. Hopefully." he commented, counting on the overall effects to be more positive, rather than negative, so that it may counteract some of the fear and anger their enemy had incited.

"As long as they don't hear about all the dust veins lined with _explosives_ under the damn city!" Qrow glared at the back of Ironwood's head, with his arms folded, who turned to him and looked at his feet, not proud of his solution for a defense. He walked to his desk.

"They're not going to." Ironwood suspected. "If the enemy wanted them to know about it, they would have heard, by now. They want the people to panic, but they don't want them to start fleeing."

"Yeah. 'Cause they wanna bury 'em in the ground, when the whole place'll get torn apart!" Qrow also understood their intention.

"They won't do it and risk losing or destroying the relic. And even if they wanted to, only I can arm the explosives and control the grid around the chamber." Ironwood said, raising his gloved, cybernetic hand to look at it, reassuringly.

" _And_ they probably know _that_ , too!" Qrow pointed out. "Tch. You'd better start sleepin' with an eye open." he told Ironwood.

"I always do." he wearily replied and lowered his head, shaking it with another sigh. "I should've known something was off. The way you reacted, when I first talked about it, was...too forgiving."

"Yeah? Well, did that other me tell you what Oz would do if he'd know?" Qrow asked, still angry.

"Graphically." Ironwood replied, to which Qrow raised a brow.

…

Ruby kept aimless wondering around the Estate, spinning around to marvel at the décor and high ceilings, where the light from chandeliers barely reached. After a while, she kept trying to find a familiar corner or hallway, until she was fully convinced she had no idea where she was. She could see a large garden outside, through the tall, narrow arches that lined the long hall she entered into and caught a glimpse of a familiar female figure that passed across the intersection at end of it, walking towards the greenery outside. She ran after them, rounding the corner.

"Winter!" she yelled and slowed to a halt as the woman turned, with a full glass of wine in one hand, the other behind her back. It was then Ruby noticed it was not Winter, but an older woman, slightly taller, with her white hair kept in a similar bun, though not close to the top of her head, but rather towards the back and who was dressed almost the same way, without gloves. Even her face and cold demeanor were like Winter's usual one, except with a few lines on her face and her eyes were somewhat less piercing, as life was yet to return to them. Ruby looked at her in surprise and it clicked for her who she actually was.

"Oh, wow! You're...you're Weiss and Winter's mom!" she exclaimed with a bounce.

"How astute." The woman spoke with the same cold demeanor Winter often did.

"Weiss...um!" Ruby excitedly started, but immediately fumbled as her eyes settled on the drink in her hand. "Uh...well...she...didn't really say a lot about you, actually..." She was sad to say and rubbed her head as she sheepishly looked at the ground, not sure how to even continue. The woman's face barely showed any emotion, only the hint of a lack of surprise, both at what was said and at the girl's awkward earnestness. She could tell by her reaction that her youngest daughter may have told her certain things, after all, as the she kept glancing her glass. Guitar music and drums suddenly began blaring from Ruby's belt-pocket.

 _[They see you as small and helpless,_

 _They see you as just a child._

 _Surprise when they find out_

 _That a warrior will soon run wild.]_

Mother Schnee raised a brow, perhaps in mild amusement, at the lyrics, before Ruby took out her scroll, looked at who was calling her and hastily answered.

 _[Prepare for your greatest moment_

 _Prepare for your finest h-...]_

"Weiss!" she yelled into it.

"Ruby, where are you!?" Mother Schnee heard her daughter's concerned voice.

"Uh, I dunno. I kinda got lost." Ruby apologetically said, then her excitement returned. "Your home is so _big_!" she grinned into the scroll. Weiss sighed at the other end.

"Can you tell me what you see around you?" She would tried to guess which part of their estate she was in and Ruby looked at the woman.

"Uh...your mom is here." Ruby told her, shrugged into the phone, as if she was unsure what else she could tell her.

"My _mother_?" Weiss was surprised.

"Yeah." Ruby replied.

"Um...what else?" Weiss asked.

"Uh..." Ruby looked around and Mother Schnee turned to walk on, leaving her to help herself. "There's...a big garden, outside. Lots of trees."

"The atrium." Weiss recognized it. "Alright! Stay where you are! I'll be there soon."

"Okay." Ruby promised and they hung up, then something Weiss told her and Yang came to her.

" _Then it was no dinner. No recitals. A_ _ **bottle**_ _of wine, here and…well, you get the idea."_

"Wait!" she called after Weiss' mother, who was a few arches away and did not even turn her way as she stopped. "You…" Ruby hesitated. "You don't need that, anymore." she said, meekly and the woman slowly turned, her head first, then halfway around, with her side and the glass of wine towards Ruby, who kept looking at it, clearly referring to it, then looked up at her subtle glare. "He's gone." she told her and the woman's eyes briefly widened and became clearer, their more piercing selves, as her glare deepened. A gleam, likely from her earlier tears, flashed across them as she turned away to wordlessly walk on and Ruby did not want to follow her, mostly because she promised Weiss she would wait for her.

…

Oscar avoided being seen by the staff and quietly walked along the paved path, then suddenly stopped, still in the cover of some thin leaves, when he spotted the person Ozpin had him searching for, under the pretense that he was going to the restroom. She was reclining in a lawn chair, with a full bottle of wine and a full glass she never even touched, on a small table beside her. She had her eyes closed and was absorbing all the warmth the sun could possibly provide, as it shined through the dome of the atrium. Oscar immediately saw the resemblance between her and Winter.

" _Who...is she?"_ Oscar asked. _"Wait…I know. Her name is…"_

 _"Willow Schnee, the matriarch of the Schnee family."_ Ozpin finished it for him.

Boots made careful steps on the pavement, moving closer. Feeling as though she was not alone, Willow Schnee slowly opened her eyes and was startled to see an unfamiliar boy standing a few paces away, from where he had been quietly observing her.

"Can I _help_ you, young man?" she asked with some annoyance and sarcasm, obviously not appreciative of a stranger invading her privacy and it was the second child she saw that day. She noticed the boy had a strangely sorrowful expression, as if he was pitying her and he took a few steps towards her. "What do you think you're doing?" she got alarmed as he stood right next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I am so sorry..." He started with an echoing voice. "For what that man has done to you and your family, little _wren_." he told her. Recognition flashed across her face at the use of her old nickname and as she spoke her voice was suddenly filled with both surprise and relief.

"Oz..." Her eyes wavered.


	10. Chapter 10

Ch. 10 – A Family Again

"Where were you even trying to go?" Weiss was asking Ruby as she found her and was walking down the hallway with her.

"Well, when we were rescuing Uncle Qrow, I saw some big knights with armor! Like the one you summon!" she bounced and stopped. "I don't know where it was." she scratched her head.

"That's the stairway in the north wing." Weiss identified it. "It's actually on the other side of the atrium. But, it's close. Come on..." Weiss smiled and picked up her pace and Ruby excitedly trailed behind her. Upon reaching the corner, they abruptly stopped as Winter strolled in front of them, coming towards the atrium from the other hallway.

"Hi!" Ruby grinned and waved as if they had not met in a while.

"And what are _you two_ doing here?" Winter asked, in a familial tone, instead of her usual demeanor.

"I'm going to show Ruby the suits of armor in the northern wing." Weiss replied. "Are you still looking for mother?" she asked, raising a brow.

"She's in _there_!" Ruby pointed towards the garden. "Somewhere." she waved her hand, in the general direction.

"I suspected as much." Winter said, unsurprised.

"Ruby actually ran into her, by herself, before I found her." Weiss noted and Winter raised a brow at Ruby.

"Got lost, did you?" Winter had a knowing smile. "Weiss used to not find her way around, when she was very little. Either me or Klein had to come and find her as she wept in the middle of the garden maze or somewhere in the staff quarters." Weiss made a frowny face at her, as Ruby snickered. "I saw him catering to your friends, in the kitchen, already. Lunch will be an ordeal." she said with a flat tone.

"Why do I have a feeling you're talking about Nora?" Weiss certainly gotten to know her habits better, over the weeks they spent in Mistral.

"Well, the two boys are more well-mannered." Winter noted.

"Two?" Ruby cocked her head.

"I haven't seen Oscar." Winter replied.

"I hope _he_ didn't get lost." Weiss quietly said. "He's even less used to places like this than _you_ are." she looked at Ruby, with some slight worry, who agreed with her.

…

"So...this is reincarnation." Willow looked him up and down. "Your new life."

"And when we succeed, it will hopefully be my last." Ozpin looked up, at the domed sky.

"You could be free. Released from the curse of the Gods." Willow understood.

"Yes. However, right now, it isn't only my life. It is Oscar's, first and foremost." He spread his arms and hands, looking at himself. "The young man you see has already accepted the responsibility my reincarnation had brought upon him. It is...never easy to prepare another soul to carry this burden."

"I never thought I would actually live long enough to see it." Willow said. "When I heard what happened at Beacon, as scant as the information was, I knew there had to be someone…formidable."

"She was." Ozpin lowered his gaze. "The power she fought me with she stole from the Fall Maiden." he told her and her eyes widened. "With the help of Salem." he added and her eyes narrowed back.

"You had to know you stood little chance against her, on your own, even if that power came from you." Willow replied.

"I had no choice but to face her. To try and stop her. I held no illusions about my odds." Ozpin kept his gaze on the ground.

"And at Haven?" Willow asked and he looked up at her. "What became of her and Spring?"

"It…is unclear. According to Miz Xiao Long, one of my students from Beacon and your daughter's teammate, the vault had already been opened by the time she arrived, with the relic still inside. Vernal…the young woman who held the Spring Maiden's power had already perished, at the hands of the woman named Cinder, who is stealing their power…as much for herself as she is for Salem."

"Then Fall and Spring have both…" she started.

"Who they were…is lost. Yes." he confirmed with regret. "We do not know where Cinder is. If she had also died. In which case, the power seeking out a new host, one potentially being close to her or Salem, could mean complications."

"Wait…" Willow started. "Who, then, defeated this Cinder? And why was the relic still inside?"

"There was…a third person, down in the vault, with Cinder and Spring." Willow raised a brow.

"Miz Xiao Long's mother. She was also a student of mine, but sadly grew mistrustful of me and have returned to…her roots, in Mistral, as the leader of a tribe of bandits." Willow made a face, wondering how someone with such origins tied into it all.

"And you think she could have defeated this Cinder, who had the power of not one, but two Maidens?" she asked, highly doubtful.

"Miz Xiao Long told us she found no one in the vault. Whether her mother had engaged Cinder in a fight or not we cannot know."

"If…she's telling the truth." Willow said with suspicion and Ozpin leaned back, considering Yang may have lied, for the first time. "Surely you did not think _you_ were the only one keeping things to yourself. Or simply omitting parts from your narrative." she rhetorically asked and Ozpin remained silent. "Her mother…" he slowly looked up at her, again. "I still do not quite understand how she factors into it all."

"Vernal was…her right-hand. Hher protégé, as far as I was able to discern. From what I've seen of her skills, in combat, she was exceptionally skilled. And so is Raven. Miss Xiao Long's mother." he added and Willow lowered her eyes-lids, reading more into his words of her prowess.

"Then perhaps she is even more skilled than you thought." she said.

"Yes. As was Miz Nikos." Ozpin said and she slightly tilted her head, blinking once. "The student who I was convinced could inherit Fall's power. She was willing to. However, circumstances…changed. And Cinder acquired the rest of her power before we could attempt to transfer what she head left to Miz Nikos." Willow looked at him with suspicion.

"And how were you planning on accomplishing that, exactly?" she raised a brow and Ozpin was reluctant to tell her of the methods Ironwood and their inner circle had devised as it was more than morally questionable, even given a willing soul.

"We have disc…-" Ozpin started.

"What are you doing here?" They looked up to see Winter walking towards them, her eyes narrowing on him as she looked between them. She noted his posture. "Professor?" she asked, to confirm it was him, as she suspected, much to her mother's surprise.

"Yes. Miz Schnee." he nodded.

"She knows?" Willow turned to him.

"You _know_ about him?" Winter asked her and her mother turned to her.

"You could have mentioned that, at the beginning." Willow glanced at Ozpin, with a slight glare, who winced a little.

"I…didn't think we would be...interrupted." he said, looking up at Winter, then averting his eyes, with some slight, uncharacteristic nervousness, as she glared at him.

"And what _exactly_ am I interrupting?" Winter started, then looked between them. "How do you even know each other?" Looked at the mother. "How do you know what he is!?" she asked. "What _else_ do you know? And what else _have you known_ , all this time?" she was yelling. "What else is there between you?" she leaned closer. "Were you…" she stepped back to stare at them. "Were you _involved_!?"

Their eyes widened and a second later, to Winter's surprise, her mother burst out laughing, for several long seconds and it started to grate on her nerves, even though it did not sound forced, but genuine. She slowly stopped, taking a breath, as she placed a hand on her chest.

"Oh, I never expected any of my children, least of all my eldest, to have such a wild imagination." Willow stated, with a smile Winter had not seen in years, but it was not enough to deter her from wanting to know the truth.

"Then _what_ is this?" Winter demanded to know, looking at Ozpin.

"I am merely catching up with...an old friend." He looked at Willow, with a slight smile." Pardon the adjective." he added.

"Oh, no need to mince words. _**I**_ am certainly not getting any younger." she said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Unlike you." she added with mild jealousy and their familiarity only annoyed Winter.

"Considering the cost of the clock repeatedly winding back for me, no one should be envious of my situation." Ozpin mused.

"Don't play coy with me! Either of you!" Winter quickly had enough and both were taken aback.

"Winter!" Her mother glared at her. "Mind your tone!" she told her and Winter seemed to flinch only mildly from her words, as she was not a little girl her mother could just yell at, anymore. "It was enough you assumed we were involved. What were you thinking?" Willow asked.

"I don't know _what_ to think, anymore!" Winter yelled, again, slightly shaking her head and both were surprised by her inner conflict that came to the surface then. She looked at Ozpin. "Him. Immortality. Reincarnation. Relics. Maidens. Past lives. He knew our grandfather, for the gods' sake!" she gestured at him as she looked at her mother. "How could I _not_ think he wasn't…even more familiar with our family?" she balled her fists. Ozpin knew everyone he told the truth, in the past few days, had to be struggling with it, each in their own way. And it seemed Winter had…additional concerns, as well.

"I can assure you he wasn't. Not…in that way." Willow did not exactly clarify.

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Winter asked.

"Your mother and I have simply known each other, since our youth." Ozpin said.

"That still doesn't explain why she would know…of _you_ , this way." Winter gestured at his appearance. "Why you would tell her. And at what point." she added.

"The same reason he told a few others. He needed allies. And given my position and…skills, he thought I could be one." Willow gave a simple explanation she hoped would satisfy her eldest.

"Well…" Winter started. "Then I'm sure he was disappointed you spent the last few years within these four walls, drinking." she frowned at her and Willow's eyes widened, before she rose to her feet, glaring at her.

"How dare you?" She took a step towards her and Winter did the same, making a stand.

"We barely speak." Winter started. "We've barely spoken, even before I left to serve and Weiss hardly ever saw you. Two of her teammates actually grew up without a mother and you know what she told them when they said she was lucky to have had one? She told them she barely had one in her life, herself." Willow's eyes widened. "So, how dare _you_?" Winter retorted.

"Enough! Please…" Ozpin stood between, holding up his hands. "Today…is a new beginning. For your family." he reminded them. "Do not let the past continue to divide you, when you…" he glanced at the noticeable untouched wine next to him. "Can start anew." he said. Winter briefly followed his gaze. "I have a feeling…" Ozpin glanced at it, again. "You may have already taken a first step. I can see it. And I know if you look deeper, Miz Schnee…" he turned to Winter. "You can, as well." He diffused the tension, though it lingered some as Winter and her mother were looking each other in the eye, unblinking. One searching for that new will, the other, for forgiveness. Willow looked at Ozpin.

"Well, don't flatter yourself, it wasn't anything _you_ just said." she told him and he raised a brow. "It was actually that girl. Weiss'…friend." Ozpin raised a brow. "The one with…" Willow quickly glanced at Winter, then back at Ozpin. "The silver eyes."

"Ah, Miz Rose. Yes…"Ozpin smiled to himself. "I'm not surprised. Hers is truly a pure soul. She simply has…an effect on those around her." He looked at Winter, who looked at her feet in silent agreement.

…

"Oh, wooow!" Ruby's child-like, cheerful cry echoed throughout the stairway and its connecting halls as she ran up to the twin suits of armor that flanked the stairs leading up to the curved balconies on both sides, shining in the light that came through the triptych of arched windows. "They're totally look like your summon!"

"Well, like my sister explained, it _is_. I defeated a Geist…actually there was more than one that was possessing it, so now I can summon it. And I…" Weiss looked at her feet. "Guess I was relying on it a little too much." From slight embarrassment, remembering her fight against Vernal.

"It's so _amazing_!" Ruby turned to her, gushing. "You can do so much with your semblance! You could, like, turn into an old lady and still don't know all of the cool things you can do with it!" she pointed out and Weiss looked at her in surprise, then smiled.

"You might be right." she had to admit. But more importantly, she was looking at the smile that assured her Ruby was truly herself and it mattered to her more and more, every time she saw it.

"Weiss…?" Weiss blinked, returning from her thoughts to Ruby's slightly tilted face.

"Oh…um…" Weiss averted her eyes. "I…just thought we could all have lunch." she told Ruby, with a smile, not actually lying. "We should find the others and go to the dining room."

"Oh. Okay!" Ruby smiled, raising her fists in front of her, giddily. "Those snacks I had in the city were only good for…" she looked away. "Uh…snacks." she finished with a silly grin and Weiss turned from her with a smile.

"This way." she said with an almost sing-song voice and started to walk back from where they came from. She felt Ruby take hold of her arms from behind, giggling mischievously and from the corner of her widened eyes Weiss could see her grin. "Wait! Ruby, no!" she pleaded and was a ball of red and white blur in the next second, flying down the hall.

…

In the dining room, Klein requested an extra table to be placed together with the one the Schnee family used to eat together at, with more chairs to seat their unusual guests. The kitchen staff was giving Jaune, Ren and Nora odd looks, as they set the table for them. The latter was fidgeting, barely able to sit still, as they waited. They saw a red and white blur fly along the columns of the arches that led into the room and it overshot the entrance. Ruby and Weiss emerged from it and the latter lightly shoved the former with a frowning smile.

"Oh, you're incorrigible!" she told her, laughingly.

"Uh..." Ruby looked up and away, not getting the word and Weiss shook her head.

"I'm starting to get used to it, at least." she muttered, as she felt her stomach, mentally noting it was not upset and Ruby grinned, then prepared to grab her, again, but Weiss held up her index-finger.

"No!" she stopped her and Ruby pouted. "The dining room is just here." she said, grabbing her hand and leading her inside, where the others were already looking at them.

"Hey." Jaune said and Klein came out of the kitchen.

"Oh, you made it! Excellent!" he exclaimed "Lunch will be seh'ved, sho'thly, albeit a tad late." he told them, as Blake and Yang walked in, behind Weiss and Ruby.

"Well, that's what happens when you gotta fight a bunch of goons and take back a company, right?" Yang commented, nudging Weiss as they passed them. It was already well-passed lunch-time.

"I thought you'd be here, already." Weiss turned after her, then looked at Blake as she stopped next to her. "Eating fishcakes." she added, looking at her.

"That's still the plan." Yang said over her shoulder and sat across from Jaune. "We checked out your room, first." she added with a smirk and Weiss glanced at Blake, with a stare back at Yang.

"I thought you were just joking about that." she said.

"And I thought _you_ were joking about the size of your bed, Princess." Yang teased and Weiss had a small frown that was still a smile as she approached the table with Blake and Ruby. The latter ran around to sit across from her, next to Nora, on the side, while Blake sat between Weiss and Yang.

"Where's Oscar?" Blake asked, noticing his absence as they settled in their chairs.

"Still in the restroom, maybe?" Jaune shrugged.

"That's gotta be weird." Yang muttered.

"What?" Blake asked.

"You know, having Ozpin, of all people, in his head all the time, even...when...he's..." she randomly gestured with her hand, not wanting to finish the thought, as everyone was already staring. Members of the kitchen staff appeared with the first dishes, just then.

"Aaand we're eating." Blake awkwardly exclaimed, as the timing was perfect to leave Yang's sentence hanging.

Their plates were filled with generous portions that smelled mouth-watering and even though they have been eating regularly at the academy's cafeteria and snacking in the Arts Wing's buffet, they hungrily started to shovel the food, except for Ren and Weiss, who had the best table-manners. Jaune and Yang came in second. Blake could hardly keep her cat-side contained at the fishcakes, which she was nearly cramming in, barely finishing one, before she reached for another. Yang's giggle made her aware of it and she slowed herself, in contrast to Nora and Ruby, who came in last, getting into brief hand-slapping scuffles with each other, as they tried to reach for the same plates of delicacies.

Weiss paused and kept smiling at them, then to herself as she was reminded of their antics at Beacon, not noticing the two had stopped and Ruby even called her name. A pea bounced off her forehead and brought her back and she blinked in surprise at a snickering Ruby. She squinted at her, then had a small smirk and a white glyph appeared under a salad-bowl, at Ruby's side. She turned her head towards it, then jerked back in alarm as it exploded, covering her in a mix of vegetable dressings and she blinked in shock at a softly giggling Weiss. Ruby slammed her palms on the table.

"This...means..." She stood. "WAR!" she exclaimed and eyes widened. Those of the staff were filled with horror.

...

"I am not sure how she will even respond to me." Willow was referring to Weiss, as she, Winter and, as everyone else was concerned, Oscar was walking with them.

"They have already experienced what children of their age rarely do." Ozpin was saying. "And even before all the hardship, your daughter was exposed to individuals who changed her in ways perhaps even she herself never thought she needed to." They were approaching the dining room.

"I...missed out on so much, even though we lived within the same walls." Willow mused, with regret.

"The walls that aren't literal often matter more." Ozpin said.

"Talking to her may be simpler than you think." Winter told her mother. "She's become a lot more mature, in just these past few months and after her time at Beacon, than she ever could have, had she stayed here." she noted as they could hear laughter and the distinct mad cackling of a girl coming from the room.

They arrived on a battlefield, where scorch marks and shells were, instead, all kinds of spattered sauces and exploded plastic bottles of condiments. Blake and Yang were hiding under the table, with the latter placing a foot out to support herself on and shot another bottle that Blake threw, then quickly ducked back under to avoid the rain of mustard that fell on Nora, who was on top of the table. Jaune and Ren watched from behind the thick curtains of the windows.

"Grrrr...hey! Who dares to hide under my castle!?" Nora demanded in character and several glyphs appeared under the scattered chunks of fish and pork, all aimed at her.

"You're in _my_ castle!" Weiss stated with a smirk and launched all of it at Nora, who got hit from all sides and was knocked off the table by a turkey hitting her in the face. Ruby jumped in her place.

"Treason!" Ruby exclaimed, accusingly pointing a finger at Weiss.

"Can't be treason, if I'm the Queen." Weiss smugly pointed out.

"On your guard!" Ruby whipped out a bottle of mayonnaise and pounced. Weiss blocked her with a repulsing glyph, sending her flying backwards, but Ruby used her semblance to zig-zag around it and burst out from her petals, tackling Weiss to the ground. They rolled along, with Ruby ending up under her, as Weiss wrestled the bottle away from her, both giggling all the way through it. She raised it, with both hands, over Ruby, who shielded her face as Weiss had a devilish smile, ready to spray her. She victoriously straightened up and lifted it over her head, as if she was going to deliver the final strike, but stopped, her happiness freezing, then quickly vanishing from her face, when she saw not just her sister and Oscar, but her mother, standing in the entrance.

Most of them stared, as deer caught in the headlights, at the woman, as Klein cleared his throat, perhaps in embarrassment that he let it all happen. "Lady, Willow! H-how wondeh'ful to see you...out and...about." he went quiet, mostly from surprise that she was not disapprovingly piercing everyone with her gaze, as he expected she would. She kept holding her daughter's gaze and neither of them knew what to say to each other. Weiss finally averted her eyes and though she felt embarrassed, the color in her cheeks was gone, as was the genuine joy her mother witnessed, for the first time, after years. And was crushed that she caused it to immediately disappear. Her gaze fell on Ruby, under her daughter, whose silver eyes were awkwardly looking up at her, upside down.

"Reenacting your fun and games at Beacon, I see." A smiling Oscar spoke. Or so they thought, at first. Weiss blinked several times, as she registered it had to be Ozpin.

"Professor?" Ruby tilted her head, as she was, still upside down. Yang and Blake came out from under the table, while Jaune and Ren came forth from behind the curtains and Nora stood, as well.

"Yes." he nodded, as the kitchen staff were still hiding from the mayhem they were causing and Weiss looked between him and her mother, who briefly averted her eyes, before she found her surprised gaze, again.

"WwowW!" Nora zipped to and around Willow, slightly startling her and draw everyone's attention, as she was suddenly back at the table. "We got _three_ Ice Queens, now! And every one of 'em is bigger than the last one!" she raised her arms to gesture, then put them together in front of herself. "It's like those stacking dolls you open and they get smaller, but the other way around!" she exclaimed, spreading her arms for effect, briefly lifting the tension. Weiss glanced at Ozpin, before she looked at her mother, with a face that told Willow her daughter obviously wanted answers, but knew not where to even start. And neither did her. Ruby felt Weiss move as the latter slowly started to stand and she sat up, silently looking at her and saw how nervous she was.

"Weiss…?" she quietly wanted to ask if she was alright and Weiss' gaze was quickly on her. She leaned back down to help her up, but Ruby could feel, as Weiss was looking her in the eyes, it was not her who was being supported. Weiss was the one who was holding onto her for help, in fact. Even if Ruby could not give it in words. She slowly let go of Ruby's hand and approached her mother.

"Mother." she said, standing firm and even though she was finding it even more difficult than it was with the crowd and the media, she was facing down one last shadow from her past that needed, not conquering, but understanding and forgiveness, so it would not remain a void in her life. Ruby was thinking it would be rude to say anything, but her own mother came to mind and how much she would have liked to hug her. And she could not stand seeing Weiss and her mother being so distant, as if they were strangers, with no love between them, even as they stood in front of each other. Everyone watched, almost in awe as Ruby took a few steps towards Weiss, who was surprised by a light push from behind her, then another and she turned her head to see Ruby was nudging her towards her mother, with eyes that nearly cried, silently telling her to just go. Ruby gently pushed her for a fourth time and Weiss was directly in front of her mother, staring up at her.

Willow kept glancing between her daughter and her friend, the little innocent girl who, even know, as she barely knew anything about her, besides her name and her special heritage, was already helping both of them heal. Winter kept blinking away the tears she felt forming, as she looked at Ruby and what she was doing. Weiss' eyes wavered and she shut them as she hugged her mother. Willow felt her warm weight against her, while a different kind of weight was beginning to lift from her, as she slightly bent down to embrace the daughter she also neglected and the one who suffered even more because of it. She opened her eyes, after long seconds and stepped back to look at her daughter, cupping her face with a hand and trailing the scar over her eye as shame washed across her face.

"I…was a terrible mother for you both. For far too long." she acknowledged.

"Eh, they could do worse." Yang folded her arms.

"Yang!" Blake turned to her as the three Schnees stared at her.

"What?" Yang shrugged. "Just putting it out there. She can't be a bad person if she's already hugging her, especially with all of us, here, like this. Even her sister wouldn't do _that_ , at first." she smirked, winked and blew a little raspberry at Winter, who groaned, but barely narrowed her eyes.

"Well, that's true." Weiss muttered and Winter turned to her with a stare to see a small smile tugging at her sister's lips and she gave her half a frown, with half a glare, but was actually happy that Weiss was reacting to it all in such a way.

"Yeah's ago, Lady Willow would have been furious at such antics." Klein walked up, holding a hand-towel behind his back. "And Lady Winter, as well. But, now…"

"The air feels different." Winter said, with a small smile, musing as much to herself as she did outward. She looked at her sister, who looked at their mother. It was, indeed, a new beginning to their family. Willow noticed Weiss' glance at a smiling Ozpin, before she looked up at her, again.

"We have much to discuss." she told her and Weiss briefly lowered her gaze, then looked back up with a serious nod. Willow could see she was obviously upset that she knew about certain things, like Ozpin.

"So you can talk, again, huh." Yang said to Ozpin.

"Yes. Though, I'm afraid I have yet to regain most of my strength. Should the enemy attack, I will not be able to fight." Ozpin told them.

"We're good, as long as it's not that…" Yang paused. " _Hazel_ guy, who had it in for you." She recalled the name Oscar told them, after the fight.

"We have not been able to train, since we left Mistral. And since an attack is imminent, we cannot afford to exhaust ourselves, when the true battle could happen at any moment. With that said, the group of mercenaries you have dispatched served well to keep all of you in your element, at least." he commented with a smile.

"I cannot believe he went so far as to try to have you kidnapped." Willow said, looking at Weiss.

"Unfortunately, underestimating the students is a mistake our enemies will not make, again." Ozpin said. "They have learned, especially since Haven that they must not take any of you lightly. Thus far, you have-…"

"Hey!" Qrow's voice interrupted him and they turned to see him and Ironwood walking into the room. "We've been lookin' fer all o' you!" he said with some irritation, then stopped as he saw the mess.

"We have a critical matter to…" Ironwood stopped, in surprise, first at the mess, then when he saw who was there. "Willow." he acknowledge her. "You're…a rare sight." he said.

"Yes, I have become keenly aware of that, myself, James." she replied. "Now, what it is you want?"

"I'm afraid that's…a matter I can only discuss with the children, here, as strange as it may sound." Ironwood explained, assuming she found it odd and Willow could see he was mentally taxed.

"Oh?" she raised a brow and glanced at Ozpin. "Well, unless Oz thinks I cannot be trusted to hear anything, I will insist." she assertively told him, with some mild smugness and Ironwood looked at Oscar in surprise.

"James." he greeted him with a small smile.

"Oz…!" Ironwood slowly absorbed he was talking to the friend who effectively died at Beacon and whose friendship and trust he almost lost, in the end. He grabbed him by the shoulder, with a sudden look of desperation. "You have to tell me what we're up against!" he shook him, much to his surprise. "What the relic does!" Another shake. "Why aren't they attacking us!?" Again. "What are they waiting for!?" One more. "We have to-…!" he was pulled up by his collar and Willow slapped him across the face, to everyone's shock, but most of all to his.

"Pull yourself together, James!" she commandingly said. "I am the _last_ person who has the right to tell anyone such. You're acting like a lost _boy_."

"I'm…sorry." Ironwood quietly said, feeling his face, embarrassed at his outburst and Qrow started laughing.

"I like 'er." he said, grinning like an idiot at Willow.

"And _you_ are…?" she fixed him with the same look. "You smell worse than _me_ after a long day." she told him, self-deprecatingly and Qrow briefly stared.

"Okay. I'll take it back." he smirked. "I _really_ like 'er." he said and Winter took a step towards him with a low growl, but only with a mild glare and he kept quietly laughing to himself. Willow sighed, unamused and unflattered.

" _Why_ are you here?" she turned to Ironwood, who composed himself.

"We…should discuss it in my office. Or…Jacque's. It _is_ closer." Ironwood said, pulling himself together.

"Not all of us are, here." Ren pointed out.

"Indeed." Ozpin agreed. "Ghira and the other students should be present."

"I'll call Sun and tell them where we are." Blake said and took her scroll out. "He'll find my dad."

"Good thing, too." Qrow muttered. "The _other_ sun would go down by the time we'd get back outta this place. Not that I don't want to." he added with some mild disgust. "I think I saw a few bottles o' the good stuff in that office, at least."

"Then let's just go and wait for the others, there." Ironwood said, awkwardly glancing at Willow as he turned to lead them with Qrow and nearly shrunk under the stern look she was still giving him. Willow turned, stepped closer and put an arm around Weiss, resting it on her shoulder that she was still apologizing to her with, as she turned with her to follow Ironwood. Weiss turned her head to look at and extend a hand to Ruby.

"Come on, you." she smiled, warmly. Ruby went to her side, still somewhat awkwardly, as she wanted Weiss and her mother to bond, but Weiss took her hand as she saw her hesitance.

"Hey, Princess…" Qrow nodded to Weiss, who blinked at him in surprise and he took his flask out. "Congratulations, by the way, on cleanin' house." he noted, taking a swig.

"We saw it on the news." Ironwood said, turning his head. "I honestly didn't think it would come to an end this fast."

"I did not think it would _ever_ end." Willow heavily said, as she gave her daughter's shoulder a squeeze, gazing proudly at her.

"I couldn't have done it alone." Weiss said as she glanced at the others, while squeezing Ruby's hand and looked at her with a radiance her mother could not help but notice.

…

In an alleyway, on the outskirts of the capital, Emerald was listening to a radio-broadcast, on her scroll, that was reporting on the attacks at the facility and the arrest of Jacque Schnee, again, with no further details on either that the authorities were willing to share with the public. She was startled by light footsteps and pushed off from the wall, putting her scroll away and reaching for one of her weapons with the other, only to see it was Adam who finally arrived and found her.

"Took you long enough." she muttered, relaxing and raised a brow when she got no response, as Adam silently stood, not even moving. She sighed. "And now I'm gonna have to wait until night with you." she stated. "Great." she dryly added and could barely look at him. She felt like she was seeing only an empty shell and it unnerved her.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11 – Know Thy Enemy

"So what…" Sun was asking, as they were all crammed in Jacque's office, except for Klein. "We got some shape-shifter spy, stirring up all the bad news and playing you two?" They understood the double meaning of the last part.

"They played all of us." Qrow said. "What's more, is we can't even be sure, who else was with us, when we went t' check on the relic." he pointed out.

"I…" Yang started, but stopped and Qrow looked at her with some suspicion.

"Ye got somethin', Firecracker? Then spill." he told her.

"She's been very eager to accompany us to the facility." Winter eyed her with even more suspicion. "Maybe it wasn't her, we were with, at all. Maybe, _this_ isn't her, either." She put a hand on the handle of her sword and many got alarmed, none more so than Blake and Yang herself. "You kept insisting we should have the meeting at the facility, also. While the reason you gave was sound, now it seems there was an ulterior motive behind it."

"No, wait!" Blake stepped up. "It's not what you think." she held up her hands.

"Then explain." Ironwood told them and Yang sighed.

"It's the relic. From Haven." she started.

"What about it?" Qrow prompted her to go on.

"Since we left, I…I starting hearing stuff. And I realized they were thoughts. Other people's thoughts." she said and eyes went wide. "I didn't know why it was happening, but then I started to figure I can hear what people were thinking, around me. And if they were close to the relic, I could hear more and...I could even see…their memories" she explained, looking at Qrow, at the last part, who appeared nervous, wondering about what she might have seen.

"Is that why you wanted to have the meeting with Miss Schnee at the facility, close to the relic?" Ironwood asked.

"Yeah. And I was still too late. I could hear those mercs thinking about the hit and that they were gonna start, but they already shot one of us, before I could tell everyone." Yang looked at Winter, who let go of her sword. "But, that's not all…" she continued. "There was someone else, there." she said.

…

"Do we _really_ have to wait until night?" Emerald was impatiently talking to Watts on their comm.

"Unless you can approach the General and lead him to the facility, with everyone else around, we must wait for the right opportunity." Watts replied, still drilling towards their goal. "And we mustn't cause complete panic, just yet. When the people of Atlas lay their heads to rest, tonight, they will wake to a war they won't be able to flee from and their streets will be the battlefield that will keep them from leaving, until it will all crumble under them, maximizing casualties." he put his fingers together, in front of himself, with a sinister gleam in his eyes and the hint of a satisfied smile. "Almost poetic." he added.

"Don't you have, like, a rule, or something, that kinda tells you to do the opposite of that, Doc?" Mercury referred to the Hippocratic Oath and Hazel was not present. Otherwise he may have had reservations about needless deaths or he just might have accepted them, if it was to please Salem.

" _ **I**_ neve'h had." Watts stated with the same malice.

"And wh-a-a-a-at am I supposed to do wiiiith _this_ guy?" They heard Emerald ask, referring to Adam, through interference.

"What's wrong with him?" Watts asked, raising a brow.

"He's creeping me out." Emerald was looking at Adam. "He hasn't even _moved_ since he got her. He just stands there like a statue." Emerald described.

"Well, go shoplifting if it helps pass the time. Just leave him there and go get anoth'ah haircut." Watts threw her options, not caring either way. "Find a nice face-mask." he added.

"Why would I need a…?" Emerald realized what he was teasing her with and with an angry growl severed the connection, as Watts smirked.

"So, how long until this thing gets there?" Mercury asked, bored.

"We should be in range by nightfall." Watts said.

"Huh? So _that's_ why we're waiting? You could've just told her that." he said, somewhat annoyed that he liked messing with both of them and Watts kept quietly smiling to himself in amusement. In the alley Emerald shut her eyes and leaned against the wall, reminding herself why she was doing all of it. For who.

…

Cinder was lying on the same crystalline table, heaving so slowly her chest was barely moving from it. Salem walked around her, the only one in the room with her, apart from the one Seer, in a dark corner. She regarded her with lack of empathy and her tone showed disappointment as she spoke to her.

"The only reason I cannot punish you more…is the same reason why you remain an important part of my plan, despite your failure. The _power_ you hold would only diminish, if I were to change you more than I already have." she said, trailing a finger along Cinder's Grimm-like arm. "If I were to enslave your mind, it would, at best, keep you from being driven by your pride and your petty quest to avenge yourself. At worst, it would weaken your ability to control the Maiden's power." she stopped, standing behind her head. "I cannot afford such trade-off." she added, as Cinder lay unresponsive, but then a whimper escaped her lips, indicating she heard Salem's words and the latter had a small smile.

…

"So, after we've been down there and even after the fight, I couldn't figure out what was going on, until you told me what happened with you guys, just know." Yang was saying. "And _who_ was doing it." she added, narrowing her eyes. "I'd still have no clue, if we hadn't seen…Salem, at Haven, like we did." Almost all of them looked confounded.

"But, that was…" Blake realized.

"An illusion created by Emerald." Ozpin stated, piecing it together.

"You mean the girl who pretended to be a student from Haven at the Vytal Festival?" Ironwood asked.

"She's _gotta_ be here!" Yang exclaimed. "And I'm pretty sure she's the one who got me disqualified, too!" Yang raised her voice. " _She_ made me break Mercury's leg, after our fight. And she probably made Pyrrha…" she turned to Ruby, who knew what she was going to say and she looked at the ground, overcome with grief and Yang did not want to say anything more.

"What?" Ironwood looked between them and Jaune stepped forward.

"She had to be the one who made Pyrrha…use too much force…against Penny." he explained, putting it together, also.

"It…it wasn't Pyrrha's fault." Ruby's voice broke as she told Ironwood. "She didn't mean…" She looked at the ground, again. "To do it." she said, as she was hurting and Weiss lightly took her hand in hers.

"That…explains a lot." Ironwood stated. "Doctor Polendina will be interested to know, also." he added and Ruby stared up at him at the mention of the person who was Penny's creator and father.

"That girl..." Willow started. "I was surprised you could hide her existence so well. What was not a surprise, is how easy it was for them to make the public distrust both the military and academies. Outside of Atlas, anyway." she pointed out. "The rank and file, here, along with the public quickly cease to worry, as long as they feel safe behind the walls."

"So we have witnessed." Ghira said. "The students at the academy were the only ones who truly felt the weight of having to expect an attack at every moment. Of course, now, after there's been an actual attack, people are taking it seriously. But, then…it is what the enemy wants."

"Emerald undoubtedly started the more detailed accounts of the attack, making the information spread much faster and purposefully created an image that tells the people of Atlas their military cannot keep them safe, any longer." Ozpin deduced.

"Aren't there, like, cameras, everywhere?" Neptune asked. "How did she get around _those_?"

"We tried to review the footage." Ironwood said. "There were a few minutes, where we found interference, with a large number of devices. After closer inspection, we noticed those few minutes contained looped footage that no one had noticed, right away. In other words, we were hacked, again, in addition to being infiltrated and having the media manipulated."

"This is _really_ startin' t' feel like Beacon!" Qrow exclaimed, turning his back as he went to the drinking cabinet to refill his empty flask. "It's even worse!" he added, yanking it open.

"Qrow…" Ozpin wanted to calm him down.

"Look, Oz…" he pulled a bottle off from the shelf, slamming it shut with an elbow. "I'm tryin' not t' lose it, here. If not fer myself, than fer the kids." he gestured with the bottle. "But, the only damn thing we got goin' for us, right now, is that no one knows where the Winter Maiden is, so, at least, _that_ vault is safe." he told him. "I got no idea how they wanna get t' the other, but one girl's already got the whole city worked up and has been blind-sidin' us this whole time!" he stopped, slammed the bottle on the desk and started working on it with a corkscrew he produced from a pocketknife, which was him trying to calm himself and Ozpin could see that. He quietly sighed, collecting his thoughts to also calm himself.

"The relic…" Ironwood spoke and Ozpin looked at him. "Is this its power, then?" Ironwood gestured at Yang, who also looked at him, expectantly, along with the rest.

"It is _one_ aspect of it, apparently." Ozpin said.

"Apparently?" Ironwood repeated, narrowing his eyes.

"You mean you didn't know?" Yang asked.

"The Relic of Knowledge affects every person that comes into direct contact with it differently. As it has in the past." Qrow briefly stopped, at that. "For some it grants…encyclopedic knowledge of everything there is in the world. For others, perfect recall of their life's events. Eidetic or photographic memory. Or faster processing, enabling them to take in amounts of information that would otherwise be impossible for their minds. In Miz Xiao Long's case, she temporarily gained the ability to gleam knowledge from the minds of others, it seems." he explained.

"So, it's not permanent." Ironwood noted and Yang sighed in relief.

" _That's_ good." she said and Qrow resumed what he was doing.

"Do all relics bestow a person with abilities that are related to their four gifts?" Ghira asked.

"Yes. Indeed." Ozpin nodded. "And the Relic of Choice is the most powerful of them all."

"Is that why…you told me you made that one harder to find?" Ruby asked as Qrow opened the bottle.

"The ability to choose was the last of the gifts the Gods have granted to mankind, for a reason. Destruction, creation and knowledge, separately and even together, were not as dangerous as having dominion over the minds of every living being. For without freewill, just _one_ may rule all others. Everyone's knowledge could become _their_ knowledge. And their ability to create or to destroy would also be at the disposal of the one who could control their will." Ozpin explained, as Qrow finished filling his flask and took a swig from the bottle itself.

"Then…" Ghira started. "I assume whoever could control the will of others, could have them lead the way to the other relics, as well." Qrow turned back to the conversation he had been listening to.

"Exactly." Ozpin said. "Which is why Salem sought to obtain the relic at Beacon, first. It would have made finding and obtaining the other relics much easier."

"Wouldn't the relic of knowledge, random as its effect may be, also give her the means for that?" Winter asked.

"It could. However…once the relic grants a person an ability, its power is depleted and it has to replenish before it can do so, again. It could take decades, if not more, ensuring that their power cannot be abused." Ozpin said.

"So, even if Salem did get it…" Jaune started.

"It would be useless to her, at least, for a while." Ghira finished.

"Not exactly a relief." Winter commented.

"Does Salem know what the relic can do?" Jaune asked.

"She…may suspect, yes." Ozpin replied, uncertain.

"If she believes it can give her certain knowledge, she may be trying to substitute the Relic of Choice." Willow spoke, looking at Ozpin, meaningfully, who seemed to catch whatever message she was sending. Weiss caught their silent exchange.

"How long have you known about all of this?" Weiss asked her mother, who hesitated, as Qrow and Ironwood were both looking at her, expectantly, as well.

"My whole adult life." she told her and Weiss looked at her in shock, as did Winter. "I'm a poor example of a mother. And an even poorer example of a Schnee."

"Willow…" Ozpin tried to stop her from berating herself.

"With all that I know and with all that I can do, I let myself waste the last decade of my life, wallowing in a shadow of myself. I have abandoned all of my duties. There is no excuse for that. No matter what my marriage was like." Willow said.

"Phh…"Qrow unscrewed his flask. "These kids are all keepin' it t'gether better than us _adults_." he took a swig and nodded at Ghira. "Eh, except fer him. He's takin' it like a champ. Heh." he added and Ghira's eyes briefly widened. And Qrow looked at Ozpin. "You don't count." he dismissively told him and Ozpin raised a brow. "You had thousands of years t' get it down."

"You assume that means it was in any way easier for me." Ozpin started. "I have spent entire life-times…" he emphasized. "Either secluding myself to try and shut the world out or I looked…" His eyes intentionally lingered on Qrow's flask, before he looked up at him. "For other means, to do the same, from the moment a new life began, until its end. And then in the next."

"That's…hard to believe." Ironwood said, as surprised as most of them.

"Only because many of you held me in high regards, based on the _single_ life-time you've known me." Ozpin replied. "In many others, you…" he paused. "Well…I would've been one of the drunken souls Qrow had found with his fist, in a bar." He wound back to Qrow, as his comment made him open up about it as he never have before.

"You could've told me that." Qrow muttered.

"I may have." Ozpin said and Qrow looked surprised, as he could not recall. "You probably did not remember, afterwards." Ozpin was suggesting he simply drank too much, one time he told him and did not have any memory of it. Qrow let out an annoyed sigh and put his flask away. Ozpin turned to Ironwood. "I realize you are looking to me for answers, James. However, I cannot tell you how we should proceed, except to state the obvious. That we must simply remain vigilant and be prepared, when the enemy attacks, again. Emerald's presence certainly complicates matters, as we cannot completely trust our senses, especially in a fight. Though, I suspect her ability may be limited to a handful or perhaps a dozen individuals, at best."

"How d'you figure that?" Qrow asked.

"She could've easily distracted us at the facility, giving the mercenaries an opportunity to disable us. Yet, she could only focus her semblance enough to cover her escape. And as Miz Xiao Long has told us, some of the attackers could clearly see her leave the building and the area, judging by their thoughts, which means they were not affected by her illusion. It is safe to assume she can only maintain it over a number of minds, at once."

"That is quite a dangerous ability." Willow commented.

"She could've assassinated us, in the facility or _you_ in your office." Winter told Ironwood. "The only reason she hadn't, is because it would have exposed her presence, before she could get the relic." she immediately concluded. "But, then what could they be possibly waiting for?" she asked, frustrated. "How are they planning to gain access, now, that we're on high alert? There must be something we're missing." she thought out loud, looking in front of herself and missed the small shake of his head Qrow gave to Ironwood, silently telling him not to say anything about the dust veins and the explosives, as it would have riled up everyone in their group.

"Or maybe they're really just stumped." Sun tried to stay positive about it. "And they just don't know what to do? So…kinda like us." he shrugged.

"As unsatisfying as a lack of action is, we can only wait for them to make the next move." Ozpin said. "It is inviting danger. But, we must react, when they do. And we must not use all of our energy worrying. Otherwise, they will win, before they even make their move." Yang sighed at that.

"Yeah, we know. You keep saying that!" she said. "It doesn't make it any easier for us not worry about it all the time."

"Really? You were doing an excellent job of not worrying, as you made a mess in the dining room." Willow stated. Yang blinked and stared at her comment, as did all who took part in it.

"Hey, we were just trying to have some…" Yang paused and Willow raised a brow, prompting her to finish. "Fun." she dropped her hands, realizing she was merely pointing out what they have been doing was coping and Yang folded her arms with a small frown.

"You guys had another food-fight and we missed it?" Sun asked in surprise, disappointed.

"Kind of." Blake had a small smile.

"Today has been especially trying. Mentally, at least." Ozpin said. "It is important you found a release."

"Yeah. But, we're right back where we started." Yang said. "It's like rollercoaster." she muttered.

"Quite." Ozpin agreed with a small smile, glancing at Ruby and the Schnees, as they, in particular, had an emotionally exhausting day, which was not even over.

"If all we can do is wait, then perhaps it is best done as we have done it thus far." Ghira said. "However, if this Emerald is capable of hiding in plain sight, we have to be careful not to discuss anything sensitive out in the open, anymore. We cannot know if we are being overheard."

"If she really is unable to affect larger groups of people…" Winter started. "Then maybe it would be worth circulating a physical description or an image of her, if we have one. That way, if she attempts to linger near us, someone outside of our group may recognize her, even if we are under her illusion."

"It could make it more difficult for her to gather further intelligence." Ironwood said. "If she doesn't already have all that she needs." he narrowed his eyes. "I'll issue the release of her information, except for her ability. If our soldiers knew, then everyone would start second-guessing everything they see around them. They might even turn on one another." he said and looked at Ozpin who nodded in agreement that it would have only added tension they needed to avoid. "I'll go back to my office and get it out to every unit, as soon as possible."

"Great!" Yang exclaimed. "We'll finish our lunch, then." she said.

"You mean the one that was all over the floor and walls?" Winter asked.

"Yeah. That one." Yang smiled, folding her arms and Winter gave her a deadpan look, not amused.

"Maybe we can have one, as well." Willow said to Weiss, who looked up at her. "Like we used to." she added and Weiss smiled.

"So…are we invited or…?" Neptune awkwardly asked, in all of team SSSN's name. Weiss looked at him, then up at her mother with a smile and a small nod. Winter started towards the door.

"I'll tell Klein and the kitchen staff their trials are not over." she said.

"Wait!" Yang called after her. "We'll go with you." she said with some seriousness that Winter found odd. "I mean, we're going there, anyway." Yang added.

"Oh, I have to go to the restroom!" Ruby exclaimed and nearly bolted for the door, taking a long step.

"Ruby, wait!" Weiss stopped her. "I'll…go with you. You shouldn't go alone." she told her, with worry and Ruby gave her a confused look.

"It's okay." Ilia walked up to Ruby. "I'll go with her."

"Me three!" Nora zipped over, on Ilia's other side, fidgeting.

"Good idea." Ozpin spoke. "No one should be left by themselves." he said and his comment made Winter look at Yang in surprise, realizing what she was doing and the latter averted her eyes with a shrug. "Though, I suspect the reason behind Emerald's non-lethality, so far, may be that she's simply incapable of crossing that line, herself, despite what her actions have led to." he pointed out. Winter gave Yang an appreciative half-nod, before opening the door to leave and they followed her.

"We're doing the whole _buddy-system_ , then?" Sun asked.

"Makes sense." Ghira stated.

"Dad, are you coming with us?" Blake stopped and turned from the doorway to ask.

"Oh. If…I may." Ghira looked at Willow, as if he was asking her permission.

"Of course." she replied, slightly raising her brow at his mild-mannered attitude, finding it somewhat amusing, given his imposing appearance.

"Come on, boys!" Yang called to team SSSN, Jaune and Ren and they followed them with Ghira, as Willow and Weiss also left, with Ilia, Ruby and Nora exiting before them. Only Qrow, Ozpin and Ironwood remained, who waited until everyone else left, before he turned to Ozpin.

"I have to tell you something else." he added and glanced at Qrow, who narrowed his eyes, guessing what it was, but thought it was his call.

"James, put it behind you." Ozpin told him, assuming he wanted to discuss what happened at Beacon and that he felt guilty. Ironwood looked at him in surprise. "You're not the first _friend_ to blame themselves for mistakes that were done. What happened to me was evitable. And I knew it myself."

"It's…not just about Beacon. I feel like I've already made _another_ mistake." Ironwood said and Ozpin had to wonder what that was, noticing his second silent exchange with Qrow.

"Very well. Then let us go to your office, in the meantime." Ozpin said, not wanting to keep him from the task he set for himself.

Weiss was walking with her mother and looking ahead of them at Ruby, as the latter hurried alongside Nora and Ilia. She turned her head and noticed Weiss was watching her and she smiled, before she heard Winter stop and point her, Nora and Ilia in the direction of the nearest restroom, down the hallway they were passing. Winter then moved on with Yang, Blake and the rest, towards the dining room and Weiss turned to look down the hallway, seeing Ruby, once more, as they passed, to see her safely go inside the restroom. Willow noted her younger daughter's worriedness.

"Your friend…is really something special." she commented and Weiss stared up at her in surprise, then thought to herself for a second, before she replied.

"Yes." she quietly agreed. "She is." Casting her eyes at the ground, with a small smile. Willow lightly raised a brow at her, then looked ahead of them, with the hint of a smile.

…

Ruby, Nora and Ilia were walking back towards the dining room, passing along the atrium, again.

"So…" Ruby shyly started. "Blake…told me you…um…" she carefully approached the topic and Ilia slowly looked at her, seeing she was awkwardly fiddling with her fingers.

"You mean that I have…that I _had_ …" Ilia corrected herself. "Feelings for her?" Helping the conversation along, not as nervous about it as she previously was.

"Yeah." Ruby rubbed briefly scratched the side of her head, brushing her hair back.

"What about it?" Ilia tried to somewhat casually urge her to ask, seeing Ruby was just curious.

"I…was just wondering…I mean…I never thought about…these things." Ruby said. "Dating." she shrugged. "And things." she added.

"You mean just relationships?" Ilia asked in surprise. "How come?"

"I dunno." Ruby shook her head. "I'm…kind of a dork." she shrugged. "I always thought about adventures. And cool weapons. Fighting monsters. But…never really about…boy stuff. Or girl stuff!" she emphasized. "I didn't even know that was a thing, until Blake talked about you." she admitted, quietly, at the end. And Ilia was even more surprised.

"That's…u-understandable, I guess." Ilia did not want to make her feel naïve, in any way. "So…what about it? You said you were wondering about something." Ilia reminded Ruby of her question.

"Just…how it feels…maybe…I think." Ruby was still embarrassed to even ask.

"Well, it…feels the same, I guess. Doesn't matter if the other person's a guy or…a girl. The feeling is...the feeling." she shrugged, wanting to avoid the more obvious word for it, as she did not want to assume anything or potentially confuse Ruby. The latter seemed to be mulling it over. "You never really…saw…it?" Ilia specifically referred to two people of the same gender. "Anywhere?"

"I…kinda lived on an island, before I went to Beacon." she tried to make it sound funny, smiling.

"Oh…" Ilia understood it was for most of her life, then. "That, uh, sounds…"

"Boooring!" Nora interjected, from Ruby's other side.

"Yup." Ruby agreed, looking at the ground.

"I dunno." Ilia mused. "Kinda wish _my_ life had been that…boring." And not spent hiding in plain sight. Hearing and seeing her kind being shunned and discriminated against. Then losing her parents, who slaved away their whole life.

"S-sorreey." Nora awkwardly apologized, remembering what they knew of Ilia's past.

"It's okay." Ilia said. "After all…we started from way different places and still…we all ended up here." Ilia chose to see the silver-lining and the higher calling that brought them all together.

…

In the dining room, a third table was placed together with the previous ones, making just enough space for everyone to sit. Willow sat at one end, with her daughters on either side of her. Winter on the inside, with Jaune, Ren, an empty chair for Nora, followed by Yang and Blake, with Ghira at the other end. Weiss sat on the outside, adjacent from her mother, with an empty chair for Ruby, followed by Neptune, Sage, Scarlett and Sun. The missing three girls came in, drawing some attention and Weiss immediately waved Ruby to her side, who happily plopped down next to her smiling friend. Nora was between Ren and Jaune, in the next second, rubbing her palms together as she grinned at the dishes in front of her, as if she had not eaten enough already. Ilia stopped, looked around, noticing there were no free chairs and sighed. Yang put an arm around Blake and pulled her in, closer to her.

"You can _fit_ in here." she grinned as Blake smiled for her to join them.

"Or _here_!" Neptune shoved Sage, Scarlet and Sun to the side, like a domino, giving her a dashing smile.

"Uh…" Ilia did not look particularly comfortable with either options, for obvious reasons, even though she already put herself past her feelings for Blake.

"Dude!" Sun exclaimed and shoved them right back in their places, moving further in with his chair and Ghira moved slightly off to the left to make more room on the corner for her. "There you go." Sun said, as a staff member immediately brought an empty plate and bowl, with cutlery to the spot, while another one placed a chair for her that Ilia slowly slid in to sit on. Ruby looked at the dishes, uncertain.

"Would you like me to fill you a plate?" Weiss asked, with more than simple courtesy in her voice.

"I don't think I can eat much more." Ruby quietly replied, indicating she was nearly full.

"Oh…I guess you don't have enough room for dessert, then." Weiss coyly smiled, as Ruby made a worried face, then pressed it close to hers.

"I do! I do!" Weiss did not even lean away from Ruby and let out a small giggle, unsurprised at her change of mind and excitement.

"Behave." Weiss reached across, in front of her, with her right index-finger, putting it to Ruby's nose, who briefly went cross-eyed, before sitting straight, obeying her. Winter smiled at their behavior and glanced at her mother, who coincidentally looked at her, at the same time, with the same expression, then both of them looked back to Weiss and Ruby.

"Hey, are you okay, Ilia?" Blake quietly asked, not wanting the whole table to hear, as they were carrying on their own conversations. She could see Ilia was unaccustomed to such a setting. Or rather, it has been a while since she sat together with so many people, after her school years.

"Yeah. I just think maybe we should get back to the academy. After this, I mean." she quickly clarified. "To be ready." she added.

"Someone wants to get back to the buffet." Sun lightly elbowed her with a smirk and Ilia threw him a glare from embarrassment and they could see it was also the reason.

"I wouldn't mind that, myself." Scarlet actually spoke, his light voice and accent new to some.

"Oh, yeah? Seen someone ya like, huh?" Sun elbowed him, as well.

"Maybe." Scarlet averted his eyes with a small grin.

"Lotta well-dressed dudes, in that place." Sun commented and Scarlet smiled to himself. Yang, Ilia and Ghira were the only ones, within earshot, who looked surprised. Blake merely smiled.

"Hey…" Jaune whispered Ren. "Where do you think all the Grimm you sensed under the academy, go?"

"I'm not sure." Ren pondered it, unable to tell if they even went anywhere, in the first place. "I can't tell if they moved on or…if they're just…weren't moving." Ren described as the Geists still under the center of the capital, within its sewers and sublevels, were motionlessly lying in wait, as the same eerie glow from the Seer aboard the drill-sub, seemed to be instructing them.

…

In Ironwood's office, a dead silence followed after he finished explaining the security measures around the vault he built to eventually house something as important as a relic. And in the event it should fall enemy hands, described the drastic protocols that would ensure it would not stay with them. Ozpin sat across from him, in a chair, in front of his desk, as Qrow stood by the window, his head turned towards Ozpin, as they both waited for his response. He took a slow, deep breath and exhaled.

"These…predictions…" he started, looking at the ground. "How wide a destruction do they tell of?" He did not look up, even after he asked and Qrow turned towards Ironwood, still not in the clear on that. Ironwood briefly hesitated, but knew he could not avoid giving a straight answer. Nor did he want to lie to Ozpin about the potential danger.

"If every charge is detonated, the chain-reaction could reach the center of the capital." Qrow's eyes widened. "Here." Ironwood added.

"Then it would appear the same measures that pose the greatest threat to the safety of Atlas and its people, are also keeping our enemy from making their move." Ozpin concluded and they looked at him in surprise, having expected a much more severe reaction, even given his personality. "Unless…" Ozpin continued. "They plan on extracting the Relic of Knowledge, either without triggering an explosion or worse. Using it, in the hopes it will be strong enough to also uncover the vault beneath the academy."

"So the relics cannot be destroyed, then?" Ironwood asked, shocked, as it meant his measures could not keep it permanently out of their enemy's reach.

"I'm not sure." Ozpin replied. "I'd wager the Gods have made them so they could not be destroyed by any means humanity could devise. After all, they embody the power of the Gods themselves."

"But, what good it would do t' 'em, if they'd tear open the ground t' the vault, fer all t' see?" Qrow asked. "They'd still need the Maiden t' open it. Not t' mention all the news it would make. Everyone would see it and start askin' questions. The military would camp out there! They wouldn't get near!"

"Not necessarily." Ozpin stated. "While Salem may not care what the public could learn, as it would only turn them mistrustful, thus add more negativity, the vault itself is…also unlike any of the others."

"What do you mean?" Ironwood asked. "I oversaw the reconstruction of the elevator and saw the doors. There isn't anything unusual about them, apart from the fact that they will only open to the power of the Winter Maiden, I suppose." he said. It was Ozpin who fell silent for a moment.

"What you saw, James, were not the real doors." Ozpin told him and he stared at him. "It was merely…a _front_ to convince everyone not intimately tied to the vault and its anti-chamber that they were already inside of it, so they would remain unaware of the real entrance that is behind them."

"But, that ain't much of a cover." Qrow thought. "Anyone can just bang on it until it opens, then. And why wouldn't the people ask anythin' about it?"

"Because even if they made it inside…" Ozpin started. "They could be convinced it was merely an ordinary vault meant to-…" Qrow scroll rang, stopping Ozpin and Qrow answered it.

"Yeah?" Qrow listened for a while. Suddenly his eyes widened and he sighed. "Hh, look, kiddo, I…" he apologetically started but was cut off and kept listening to, who Ozpin, at least, assumed was Ruby. "Heh. I imagine she does. Wouldn't mind knowin' about that myself." he glanced at Ozpin, who raised a brow. "Ye'r on yer way here, then? All o' ya?" he asked and listened again, but Ozpin raised a hand. "Hold on a sec…" Qrow told her and lowered the phone.

"Tell them to meet us at the entrance." Ozpin told Qrow, who raised a brow, but got back to Ruby.

"Hey, so Oz says we should meet in front o' the academy." Qrow said and waited. "Yeah, all of us." he said, then listened. "Okay, kiddo." he said and hung up.

"Miz Rose?" Ozpin asked.

"She said the Princess' got some question 'bout you and her mother that she wants some answer for. Her _mom_ told her they should talk t' you, instead." he gestured at him with the scroll in his hand. "So, ye'r not getting' outta that." he said with some amusement. "And the kid knows I'm still holdin' out on her, since I first told 'em 'bout some o' the stuff, but said she's not gotta get on me fer that, right now."

"I suspect it's more about her mother and her heritage than anything else. And how much _she_ knew about it all." Ozpin guessed.

"Yeah." Qrow agreed, putting his scroll away.

"Are we taking them to the vault, below the academy, then?" Ironwood asked.

"Yes." Ozpin replied. "I promised them they will be given answers, _when_ they ask them. And I will not keep the truth from them, simply because I deem them unprepared for it. Lying, even by omission, may be protecting them. But, they've made me realize it can also cause a strife that must not exist between us. I'm…trying to honor that trust."

"Well, the Firecracker was definitely keepin' some things t' herself." Qrow noted. "How much d'you think she heard with the relic?"

"Considering she hadn't physically threatened either of us, she may not have learned anything that could have angered her." Ozpin said.

"And you think whatever you'll tell 'em in the vault, won't?" Qrow asked.

"Not either of your nieces, at least." Ozpin said and Qrow gave him a small glare.

…

Emerald sat with her back against a concrete wall, out of sight of every patrol, after she and Adam moved back to be close to the facility, again. The latter stood a few paces from her, guarding them, as she finished listening to Watts and all the interference.

"I don't supp…ose you could ha-a-a-andle all of theeeeeir minds, to accompany them down there and even if you can, you could nnnnot make it there on time." Watts was telling her, having listened in what was said in Ironwood's office. "You might-t-t-t as well stay put." he finished and severed the connection. Emerald stared ahead of her, recalling her conversation with Salem.

[Flashback]

"…if that is the case…" Salem was saying to her. "And the Relic of Knowledge cannot be utilized, then you must find a way to unearth the entrance to the vault under Atlas. Threaten its safety, in any way and…the one who is bound to it will be drawn out of hiding to protect it." She predicted the Winter Maiden would surface should the vault be endangered.

"B-but…what if she doesn't? W-what if she's not even _in_ Atlas?" Emerald asked, fearfully. Not daring to question her thinking in any way.

"Every Maiden, so far, has always remained near the vault their power unlocks. Within the same kingdom, at least. If a vault is attacked, its Maiden _will_ come to its defense." Salem replied.

"But without Cinder…we can't get her power." Emerald pointed out.

"We need only to learn their identity. Once the Relic of Knowledge is ours, we may bide our time and take the power when it is no longer wielded by an experienced Maiden. Just as we did the last time. And I certainly have more than enough time to wait, unlike my _dear_ Ozpin, who must…grow into his shoes, first. Mwhahaha." Salem laughed to herself and it was an unusual, also unnerving sight.

[End of Flashback]

Emerald leaned back, closing her eyes. After a few seconds, she opened them to look at the statue that was Adam and rolled her eyes, before closing them again.

…

"So, why are we suddenly going down there?" Jaune asked, as Ironwood was leading them towards another heavily reinforced and guarded elevator.

"Mr. Ren sensing the Grimm underground, earlier today and a more recent information, has given me reason to make sure the entrance to the vault remains intact and undiscovered. Incidentally it will also provide some of you with answers that have only been partly answered, so far." He looked at Weiss, at the end, who turned to her mother. Willow did not say a word, though and Weiss guessed she did not need to. Whatever Ozpin was about to show them would probably explain it all, she thought.

"I will take half of us down, first." Ironwood said, as they could not all fit into the elevator. "Then I'll come back for the rest." He used a code and a number of different scanners, again, to authorize the full use of the elevator that was then capable of going past every sublevel, to one that was not indicated anywhere, far deeper than any of the other facilities were. Team RWBY, Ozpin, Qrow and the other Schnees were the first to go down with Ironwood, followed by the rest. They were standing in three rows, with Ironwood at the panel, next to Qrow and Winter. Behind them were Willow, Weiss and Ruby. Then Oscar, Yang and Blake.

"This is a little crammed." Yang commented as they began the long descent. They just barely fit into the elevator, with no room to move, whatsoever. "On the bright side, there's no way Emerald can squeeze her way in without any of us feeling an extra body, here."

"Unless, she already took one o' ya out and is pretendin' t' be them." Qrow muttered.

"Qrow…!" Ozpin exclaimed, wanting him to stop. Ruby started frisking a surprised Weiss, all the way to her face and hair and she twirled her pony-tail at the end to make sure it was not an illusion of her that Emerald could have been casting around herself.

"You're you." Ruby smiled. Weiss blinked at her, weirdly.

"And _you're_ you." she said with a smile. Yang smirked, giving both of Blake's cat-ears a scratch and she gave her a weak smile, lightly blushing at the feeling. Winter elbowed Qrow, surprising him.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"Just making sure." Winter told him with some coyness. Qrow lightly stepped on her foot, in return.

"Ow!" she exclaimed, keeping most of it in, then glared at him, as he smugly smiled to himself. Ironwood sighed to himself as Ozpin smiled at their antics, even in such a serious situation.

They finally made it to the bottom and exited to an entirely unremarkable chamber, where the walls were the rocks on which the academy and the capital stood, forming a short, narrow path to a pair of large metallic doors. Ironwood went back up for the others and left them to wait.

In the second group, Nora was clinging to Ren, making more room for the others, as Ghira looked very much uncomfortable taking up so much space with his robust form.

"Well, this is familiar." Jaune quietly said to himself as they descended for a long time and Ironwood looked at him in surprise, from the corner of his eyes, but did not ask him anything. He suspected that he had seen the vault under Beacon.

"This doesn't look like the one in Haven." Yang said to Ozpin. "There's nothing here." Disappointed.

"As I have already explained to James and Qrow, where we are, now, is not the vault's true anti-chamber. The doors are merely a decoy, if you will, to prevent anyone from seeing what lies beyond."

"Well, what _lies beyond_ , then?" Yang asked, somewhat annoyed, as the others arrived in the elevator.

"It will become clear, once it is opened." Ozpin stated and walked to the large double-doors. There was a circular hole, the size of a small ball, in both halves, and a third one in the middle. Ozpin took his cane off its belt and inserted the spherical end of it into the first hole, on the left, then twisted it. It engaged a mechanism the sounds of which can be heard coming alive and he moved to the right, repeating the process, as even more noises followed. Finally he stood in the middle. Taking a deep breath, he opened the final lock and after a few seconds of heavy parts sliding everywhere inside the thick metal construct, it opened, to the inside.

As everyone stood on the threshold, their eyes widened, not just in awe from the gently falling snow and the serene, wintry conditions inside the anti-chamber that was overgrown with the fauna of the tundra, but Winter and Weiss' eyes, in particular, stared in shock as they traveled high above to the true door of the vault, where no stairs reached, on which they recognized the snowflake that was their family's crest.


	12. Chapter 12

Ch.12 - White Queen in Play

"But…that's…" Weiss stuttered, as she looked at the Schnee Family Crest.

" _Why_ is our family's crest on that door?" Winter was taking it less well. "Explain!" she glared at Ozpin.

"Winter!" she looked at her mother, as her voice echoed in the stillness of the chamber. "Calm down!" Her mother told her, not surprised by it, at all, which only angered her further.

"Y-you knew about this, _too_?" Winter asked, her voice rising.

"You will have an explanation, as to why. Now, calm…down!" Willow repeated and as Winter collected herself she nodded to Oz to continue.

"As some of you may know, the Schnee family's history dates back long before the founding of Atlas and even before the times of Mantle. Unlike the ill-reputed people of the kingdom's present, the Schnees have always upheld ideals that placed the good of all mankind first, without attempts to control and suppress their liberties, as it was attempted before the Great War, for example." his face darkened as he mentioned that shameful part of history. "Until the time of Nicholas, the Schnees, though respected and renowned, were not nearly as influential as they are now. They came from humble beginnings, with the first settlers that eventually made the continent of Solitas their home." Winter folded arms, her glare not disappearing, as she already knew all of that. It was practically common knowledge that before the time of their grandfather, their family did not have the high status she and her siblings were born into. But, they were always noble men and women, in the sense that they had honor and positive ideals they strived to instill in every generation.

"Let's a play little game, shall we." Ozpin smirked and most of them gave him a weird look at the sudden proposal. Willow only raised a brow. He raised his index-finger. "Can anyone describe what the semblance of the Schnees is?" Weiss and Winter looked somewhat taken aback.

"Really? Ye'r gonna do this, now?" Qrow asked, folding his arms.

"Indulge me." Ozpin told him and Qrow sighed. He slouched some.

"Fine." he played along. "Glyphs?" he knew that much.

"What would be _one_ word for what the Schnees do when they use their Glyphs that also encompasses their versatility?" Ozpin led them. Ruby exchanged a look with Weiss.

"S-summoning?" Ruby meekly asked.

"Manifestation?" Ghira tried.

"Manipulation." Winter stated, not really feeling like playing games, but Ozpin shook his head, somewhat to her annoyance.

"Try to think of a word that means giving something physical form or extraordinary properties. An act that is believed to be only possible to the Gods' themselves." Ozpin further described and they tried raking their brains. He looked behind him and up at the seemingly unreachable entrance to the vault. "Consider what is behind that door." he added and they thought more on it.

"Power!" Nora almost roared, raising her fists and startling those around her. Ozpin's eyes briefly widened, then he raised a brow.

"The power of…" he prompted them. And Winter started to realize, staring ahead of her.

"Omnipotence?" Ren asked.

"Creation." Winter whispered and raised her head. Ozpin smiled at the correct answer.

"It was, here, on the continent of Solitas, where an ancestor of the Schnees found the Relic of Creation and made contact with it." Everyone listened, wide-eyed, especially Weiss and Winter. "However, unlike Miz Xiao Long's brief exposure to the Relic of Knowledge…" Ozpin nodded at her. "The Schnee's prolonged use of the Relic of Creation, while it gave them the means to establish a solid foothold in the rigid climate of the continent, also came with an unexpected and _permanent_ side-effect." he paused for effect. "It gave them…their semblance." Winter and Weiss could not form words, never mind any questions and so Ozpin continued.

"Generations of Schnees periodically used the relic, not only for their own gain, but to help others build a life where few could barely survive. The power of the relic eventually imprinted a fraction of itself in them and their bloodline, enabling their unique semblance to be passed down." he stopped, looking at Willow, as if he was asking her if he should continue and she nodded. "As you already know, the power of the Maidens is also passed down, although in a much more particular way that is not tied to a bloodline. When a Maiden passes away, the power seeks out the person the Maiden had in her final thoughts, provided the individual is a young woman. Now…some of you may have already considered that this can also ensure the power is only passed through a line of people who may have known each other more closely, as in, within a family." Some of them had an alarmed look. "However, it doesn't necessarily have to be the case. And even though the Schnees are intimately tied to the Relic of Creation, it is entirely by coincidence that after many generations…" he paused. "Willow…is currently the only person who can open the Vault of Creation." he said and some could swore that even the snow stopped falling.

"Wait!" Yang exclaimed and started yelling. "So, are you saying she can open the vault, because she's a Schnee or because-…" Yang stopped, realizing what his words meant, halfway and her hands slowly fell to her side. Weiss turned and stepped away to look at her mother, her eyes wavering, along with her sister's. Willow closed her eyes, taking a deep breath.

"Now, you understand what I truly meant when I said I have abandoned my duties, as your mother and as a Schnee. And…as a Maiden." Weiss' mind was overloading and Winter was done. She stormed off, towards the elevator. "Do not run, Winter!" Willow called after her. After their earlier confrontation, she feared her reaction would be more severe than Weiss'. Winter turned back.

"How could you keep something like this from us!" she yelled. "Ozpin was one thing! This is another one entirely!"

"They're…" Weiss started crying. "They're going to…they're going to kill you." she told her and Willow turned to her with a grave face that could not pretend it could never happen, but she tried as Winter's anger disappeared at the realization her sister made.

"They do not know. No one outside this room does." Willow tried comforting her, cupping her face with both hands.

"But, they will…" Winter whispered, walking back, not giving into the comforting delusion that it would not happen. Yang was staring at them and all she could think about was how, coincidentally, her own mother was also a Maiden and how much that affected their family, already, giving her some serious baggage.

"This is just…insane!" Yang exploded, even angrier than Winter did earlier and turned away from them.

"What's _yer_ problem?" Qrow asked, surprised by her outburst.

"My _problem_!?" Yang snapped at him, raising her hands and partially clenched her fists, making claws, as if she was going to attack. "Their mom is a _frigging_ Maiden a-and…" she stopped, reminding herself that the others did not know Raven's secret. She stared at them without an answer, then closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath and held up her hands. "Forget it." she said, more calmly.

"How exactly did either of you _think_ we would react?" Winter asked her mother and Ozpin, still furious.

"About as well…in your case." Willow frankly stated, not exactly improving her daughter's disposition.

"You had to know this was coming to you one day!" Winter told her.

"Not necessarily." Willow replied. "After the fall of Beacon, I should have felt it, yes. I should have prepared myself for this day, then." she admitted. "I did not." she looked at the ground, in shame.

"And Oz didn't even mention you, at all." Qrow said, turning to him. "Every time Atlas and relic came up, you didn't even say anythin' 'bout the Winter Maiden. You knew she wouldn't be a problem t' find. 'Cause you knew who she was and where, all this time!" he accusingly said. "Tch." he shook his head. "Well, that answers how you know 'er. At least, none of us had t' wring it out o' ya." He was past it.

"I still want to." Yang muttered, folding her arms.

"Yeah? And why's that?" Qrow could see she what still angry about something. "These two're the ones who should be pissed that their mom has a target painted on 'er, now." he gestured at Winter and Weiss. "And if not t'day, heck, even if not in the next twenty years, but they gonna know, especially if Salem can get her hands on the other relic." he said, worrying Winter and Weiss even more.

"Can't we bring that one down here?" Jaune asked.

"We could. But, moving the relic from where it is secure is out of the question. "Ironwood said.

"As soon as we'd take it out, that girl could easily take it, right b'fore our eyes." Qrow referred to Emerald. "Where it's at, now, is also our only insurance they won't do anythin' too stupid t' get to it." he glanced at Ironwood, with a bit of criticism in his eyes and voice that only Ironwood and Ozpin understood. "Not that it changes the fact that we got a Maiden, who's probably so outta practice she might as well be new. No offense." she looked at Willow, who took none. "And we still got no idea-…" His eye caught something. "What the hell!?" _Harbinger_ was off his back and in its shotgun-form, in an instant, aiming behind everyone, towards the walls of the entrance and they glanced back and forth.

"What is it?" Ironwood asked, looking back and forth between him and where his was aiming.

"Somethin' moved." Qrow was serious.

"Emerald?" Yang asked.

"No." Qrow gave a single shake of his head. All of their eyes roamed the rocky wall and the short path to the elevator, looking for any movement with their weapons ready. Something white slowly peered with a single eye, from out of the stone, as Neptune's eyes travelled over it.

"There!" he exclaimed, but it pulled back, before he could shoot.

"What'd you see?" Sun asked.

"It was really small and it moved back into the wall…or more like, through it." Neptune described.

"A Geist." Willow guessed.

"Not just one." Ren noted and all turned to him to see him kneeling, with his hands on the floor, as he concentrated again, trying to sense their presence. "I felt the same, when we were above." he said.

"You mean it's full of those _ghosts_ down here?" Sun asked.

"It would be a fair assumption to say they were drawn in by our negativity." Ozpin said. "However, there was no reason for them to be near the academy or the capital itself, earlier. While Geists are able to pass through solid matter, they don't typically do so in such a manner. Over such vast terrain. And _definitely_ not in groups."

"Then how can they be…congregating?" Ghira asked.

"Something or someone…is slowly _guiding_ them." Ozpin said.

"Uh, guys…." Jaune started. "I don't wanna panic anyone, but if those things start possessing rocks…" he trailed off, not needing to finish what that could have meant.

"Perhaps _panic_ is a strong word for a few Petra Gigas." Willow commented and some gave surprised and even skeptical looks. "Admittedly, my confidence would have been reassuring twenty years ago."

"Then maybe we shouldn't stay here for long." Ironwood said. "If they start to use the walls themselves as their bodies, they could even cause a cave-in."

"That's not a panicking thought, at all!" Neptune sarcastically exclaimed.

"Let's just get outta here." Qrow muttered.

"I'll prepare the elevator." Ironwood started towards it.

"We are not done, James." Willow's words stopped him and he turned to look at her. "Since it has become quite relevant, I will want to hear how you and Oz planned on _forcibly_ transferring a Maiden's power onto another person." she said and looked at Ozpin. Qrow started quietly laughing to himself.

"Oh, yeah. Why don't you tell 'er _all_ 'bout that." he frowned at the end and Ironwood sighed with a small glare.

"Not here." Ironwood replied.

"Let us leave here, then." Willow told him.

"I will lock the entrance." Ozpin said and everyone took one last look around the anti-chamber. Winter and Weiss' eyes lingered on their family crest adorning the vault's entrance. They left the room to wait at the elevator, glancing around for any Geists that might show themselves, but saw none. The group that was second to go down, went up first, as Ozpin engaged the locking mechanisms at every hole on the doors, in uncomfortable silence. Ironically, the ride up was the opposite of when they came down, in terms of the general mood. Willow, Ozpin and Ironwood stood at the front. Yang, Qrow and Winter behind them, with Blake, Ruby and Weiss in the back. Yang was facing Blake, as Qrow was looking at Winter, from the corner of his eyes, while Ruby worriedly looked at Weiss, as the two young Schnees stared ahead of them. Willow glanced at her distraught daughters, knowing there was nothing she could tell either of them that would have eased their minds, whether it was the truth or a placating lie.

"It's not even mine…" Weiss whispered to herself and Ruby leaned closer, unsure of what she was even referring to. "Everything I can do…it…it all came from some relic." Her mother and sister turned to her. "I thought our family was gifted…but not like _this_. Is that how grandfather built all he had?" she looked up and turned to Ozpin. "Did he just use the relic to invent _everything_ he did?" she glared at him. "Did _Atlas_!?"

"You misunderstand." Ozpin started, turning around. "I should've been clearer. The relic was sealed _before_ the time of your grandfather and your ancestors have stopped using it, once they began mastering the semblance it gave them. It may sound selfish, on the surface, but the decision to hide it from the rest of the world came to prevent less noble souls from obtaining its power. Your ancestors never wanted to hoard its gift only for their own gain, but if some with negative intentions had been granted even but a fraction of its power, as the Schnees were, they would have most assuredly fought until but one side remained. And if that had not been your ancestors, it would have been disastrous to the world." he explained, but could see Weiss still felt conflicted about where their family gained their power.

"And please do not believe the origin of your semblance diminishes all the effort and dedication you and your ancestors have put into mastering it. Just as your grandfather continued and built an even greater legacy, without the aid or _even knowledge of_ the relic, your accomplishments, Miz Schnee, are your own. And so is the semblance your family has _made their own_." Ozpin told her.

"He's right." Ruby told her, grabbing ahold of her arm. "You're still amazing." she smiled as she looked her in the eyes. "It doesn't matter where it came from." she shook her head. "You're helping people with it. Like your family did. And that's what matters." Ruby told her and Weiss teared up, slightly, then she reached across with her other hand and placed it over the one Ruby had on her arm, with a small smile, never breaking her gaze. Ozpin smiled, as it was, once again, Ruby who brought Weiss back from the verge of a chasm. Without her words, his alone would not have been enough.

The elevator came to a halt and most of them gasped at how sudden it felt, as if it was a malfunction.

"We've arrived." Ironwood stated, seeing they had been distracted. They all exited, joining the others.

"To your office, then." Willow was telling, rather than asking him.

"No, actually." Ironwood surprised them. "We've already said sensitive information, in there, and I'm not convinced our enemy isn't still listening, somehow. They hacked the cameras, as easily as this Emerald walked around inside the academy. And I don't know if that's all she had done."

"What? You think she plan'ed some bugs?" Qrow asked. "Search yer office, then." he shrugged.

"If they _had_ been listening, then they already know we're onto them. I only realized it, after we agreed to go down to the vault. Fortunately nothing critical was said, since you and I found out about the breach." he turned to Ozpin. "They likely heard what you said about the first door, but even if they get through that, they won't be any closer to opening the vault." Ironwood noted. "We could still stop them from overhearing anything else, of course." he added. "But, for now…let's go back to your Estate." he looked at Willow.

"Hh-You already got a slap fer t'day." Qrow started with a short laugh. "Ye'r goin' for another one?" Ironwood gave him half a glare. "Hey, maybe you can let Oz have it, this time. I'd pay t' see that. Heh." Neither Ironwood nor Ozpin were as amused by his imagination as he was.

"If it's alright with _you_ guys, we're gonna hang out with Flint and his crew." Sun said. "Think we had enough bombshells dropped on us for one day."

"Don't blame us if you miss another good fight." Yang told him, half-heartedly, as she was not really in the mood for jokes.

"And I must return to the faculty…" Ghira started. "And ask for their assistance in petitioning the city's administration to help the Faunus families, now that many of their... _employers_ will be put behind bars." He knew the word was not even fit to describe them.

"And I'll see what I can do, as well." Ironwood told him. "After, we've discussed a certain matter."

"Takin' all bets…" Qrow whispered to the others, behind Ironwood, Ozpin and Willow.

"No one's going to hit anyone." Ironwood glared at him, as he turned to leave with them.

"We shall see." Willow stated and Ironwood briefly stopped to stare after her, feeling slightly emasculated. Qrow shook his head, impressed by her, as the others passed him and Ironwood.

…

"Hhh…" Emerald sighed. "I can't stand this guy." she muttered into her comm-link.

"Why? What's he doing, now?" Mercury asked, as Watts was seemingly absent from the control room.

"It's what he's _not_ doing!" Emerald pointed out. "It's been hours and he hasn't moved. He probably doesn't even blink under that visor. And he hasn't even taken a _leek_ , since he got her! So what? He doesn't even have to do _that_ , anymore?" she asked, disturbed and Mercury made a face. "And I can't even go anywhere, without using my semblance, since they got my face on every screen."

"Oh?" Watts sauntered in as she was saying. "Is that right? The General must be quite desperate to have every soldier looking for you."

"I can't get near them, like this." Emerald pointed out.

"And you do not have to." Watts reminded her. "You merely have to wait a few more hou'hz."

"Easy for _you_ to say." Emerald muttered.

"If you absolutely must do something, then I may have a task for you." Watts proposed.

"What?" Emerald listened, not exactly eager to do any favors for him. Only if it helped their plans.

"Frankly, we are counting on the damage from the explosion to take the CCT Tower offline, but in case it doesn't reach that fa'h, it may benefit us to disrupt their communications, befo'h making ou'h move." Watts explained.

"I only have _one_ of your gadgets left." Emerald told him, as Watts sat in his seat.

"That will be enough." Watts replied. "You need to get inside the tow'eh and find a te'hminal to attach it to. It will give me remote access. Then I can cut off thei'h transmissions, when the time is right."

"But, that will cut off _ours_ , too." Emerald said in alarm.

"Yes. But, from that point on, it will not matter. We'll simply take away thei'h ability to coordinate, earli'eh than we had planned. The backup towers, scattered around the kingdom, may still provide some signal, but those will not even reach the capital. They'll be blind even befo'h the chaos stah'ts."

"Fine." Emerald agreed to it. "You think I can tell this guy to just stay here and wait?" Emerald asked.

"See if you can." Watts shrugged.

…

"So you weren't just going to let her die!" Jaune was saying to Ironwood, who was standing in front of the desk, in Jacque's office. "You were going to _rip_ the rest of her power out of her, with her _life_! And force it into Pyrrha!" he was blowing off on him, as Winter and Willow stood across from them, with Ren and Nora on the left side of the room and team RWBY on the right. Ozpin was at the side of the desk, to Jaune's right and Qrow was leaning against the wall, next to the door. Ironwood tried to reply.

"After we've explained it to her, she agre-..."

"Of course, she did!" Jaune cut him off. "What else was she going to say!? She was never going to say no! She was never going to just walk away from something like that! Oscar couldn't!" he pointed at him, or rather Ozpin, who looked at the ground. "And how many others before them! Do you really think that's a _choice_!?" he stepped closer with every sentence. "You train us to protect everyone. You keep telling us the world needs huntsmen and people who'll stand up to fight. Of course, we'd accept! Any one of us!" he told him, as a student to a headmaster, then continued, quietly. "But, it's no one's choice, if the other way is to just let the world end." he stopped and turned, then slowly walk back, facing away from everyone.

"I understand you were desperate…" Willow spoke, looking at both Ironwood and Ozpin. "But, even so…" she took a deep breath. "Were you even certain it would work?"

"None of us felt right about what we were trying to do." Ironwood replied. It was the first time the other students heard the details, as well. They could say nothing Jaune had not already said.

"I take it your phrasing was deliberate." Willow noted. "And you did not actually know if your methods would even succeed in transferring Fall's power." She looked at Ozpin. "You have never taken such a gamble."

"We never had a situation like the one we had, either." Ironwood tried to argue.

"Yes. Oz already explained what this Cinder had done and that she finished what she started. With _one_ of us, at least. And now that Spring is lost to us…" Yang looked at the ground at that. "Only myself and Summer, remain." Ruby briefly appeared uncomfortable hearing her mother's name.

"Is this why you named me after the season?" Winter asked. "So that I'd have a name fit for a Maiden? You wanted to pass the power to me, from the start?" Jaune turned to them, listening with interest.

"Yes…and no." Willow said and Winter made a face. "I did name you after the season and the Maiden whose power I inherited. But, as Oz told you, the way in which it is passed on may lead people to believe it can be guided to remain within a family. However, it is not insurance that it will. The Winter Maiden before me was not a Schnee. Neither was the one, before her. And I…was never certain whether I wanted to pass it onto you…or spare you from all the truths that come with it."

"And it is not a decision that can be…forced…in the moment the power is to pass on." Ozpin stated, saying that even with their understanding of how the process worked, ensuring that the one in a Maiden's final thoughts was a particular person, was still not something that could be controlled.

"Tch. At least, you can't force _that_." Jaune muttered and Ozpin sighed, looking at the ground.

"Professor…?" Ruby spoke and they looked at her. "I have a question."

"Yes?" he prompted her. Ruby looked at Weiss, before speaking.

"If Weiss' family could get a semblance from the relic that's _here,_ then…" Ozpin knew what was coming. "Can the other one do the same?" Everyone was somewhat surprised as they had not considered it.

"The Relic of Destruction." Ozpin named it. "The counterpart to creation. And the…gift…of the Younger Brother. Suffice to say…the God of Darkness left more than just his mark on it." he said and silence followed, as he considered what he would tell them next.

"Hey…" Yang spoke. "Don't start…don't hold out on us." she told him, her voice still even. Ozpin sighed.

"Just as the Relic of Creation bestowed the ancestors of the Schnees with the versatile semblance they can pass on, the Relic of Destruction also changed the person who first made contact with it. Held onto it and reveled in its power, for too long." he paused, with a pained expression. "It corrupted them." he said, with sorrow and regret. "And this corruption came with a compulsion. A _need_ for destruction. The same way the Younger Brother made the Grimm to embody his will, so did the relic he created passed on his nature." his eyes narrowed. "Onto the one who would, then, dedicate her life to bringing destruction and ultimately darkness upon Remnant." Everyone stared, even Willow. Not in disbelief. But, in shock that Ozpin knew, all along, the being who was now known, only by a few, as…

"Salem." Ironwood whispered. "You…"

"You told me you didn't know much 'bout 'er!" Qrow pushed off from the wall and walked towards Ozpin. "That's some pretty big detail fer you t' say it _ain't much_!" he stopped in the middle of the room.

"Even I did not know that." Willow stated. "Oz, why would you not…"

"Because he knew her." Blake spoke and all turned to her. "Didn't you?" she asked, sympathetically, knowing what it was like to see a person close to them change for the worse.

"I did." Ozpin said and the sadness behind his voice already answered just how closely he knew her.

"The two of you were…" Willow trailed off as Ozpin closed his eyes and slowly opened them.

"Damn…" Qrow whispered.

"There is…probably more, there…" Willow started. "But, I can see why you would leave that part out, every time you would find someone to confide in. It is much too personal. Even for a close circle of friends to know." She was understanding, as one.

"Or maybe you thought we would get the wrong idea, after knowing Salem used to be more than that." Ironwood guessed and Ozpin did not look up.

"I believe we have all heard enough, for one day." Willow softly spoke and stepped closer to put a hand on Ozpin's shoulder, who looked up at her.

"Yeah." Yang agreed, suddenly feeling some pity for Ozpin, though her mother's words still lingered in her head and she knew there had to be even more to their history. But, she let it rest. As Willow slowly took her hand away, Ozpin reached to take it and glanced around the room.

"Thank you, all, for understanding." he said and his eyes flashed. Suddenly, it was Oscar, who was holding Willow's hand and staring up at her surprised face, before he quickly let go and pulled back.

"You've _got_ to stop doing that!" he told Ozpin, out loud, in embarrassment, then looked up at Willow, slightly shrinking, not just because she was much taller.

"Now I can see why he was so awkward an adolescent." Willow noted and Nora let out a giggle.

"He's tired or what?" Qrow asked.

"Maybe." Oscar shrugged.

"Maybe _we_ should find somewhere we can just…sit down." Blake suggested taking a break from all the exposition and resting physically, as well as mentally.

"Actually, we got somethin' else that ought t' be cleared, first." Qrow started. "B'fore it comes t' fightin', fer all of us." he added and looked at Willow. "When was the last time you were in a fight?" he asked and Willow was not surprised, as she expected, ever since Ozpin and her daughters have returned, that she would have to take up the fight, once again.


	13. Chapter 13

Ch. 13 – A Breather

The large, blindingly lit training-hall of the Schnee Estate shook, sounds of shattering ice and the clashing of swords echoed between its thick walls, as a seated team RWBY and team ORNJ, along with a standing Ironwood, watched from the spectator's balcony, with mouths agape, the bout that, by all appearances, was coming to a close.

Qrow was tossed backwards and landed in a roll to pick himself up, as Winter jumped back, forming a protective glyph in front of her that was promptly shattered by an icy blast that sent her sliding on her back, next to Qrow. He stood and immediately saw a glyph under himself, then dodge-rolled to the side as a column of ice sprouted at the spot he stood at. In what was a mere second, three glyphs appeared inside it, two horizontally, one vertically, cutting it up into sizable slabs, before they vanished and a fourth glyph, behind it, shot them towards Qrow and Winter, seemingly randomly. Both of them managed to cut two in half, but the remaining ones hit them, at the same time, in the stomach and they sprawled out on the ground. They slowly sat, supporting themselves on their hands and stared at the person who single-handedly mopped the floor with them.

Willow heavily panted as she was on one knee, with her sword embedded in the ground, as a glyph vanished from around it. She pulled the blade out, wobbling as she stood, to catch her breath, obviously having overexerted herself. "I...am terribly out practice." she kept panting and the mouths of everyone hung open even wider. Oscar could hear Ozpin chuckling to himself, inside.

"She's...amazing." he whispered, out loud.

"And she only used her semblance." Blake said. "It didn't even look like she used anything a Maiden can do." Blake noted. "Has she?" she turned to Oscar, who briefly listened to Ozpin, then shook his head, in response to her.

"Holy crap...!" Yang whispered, as Qrow and Winter finally got to their feet.

"Well, like mother, like daughter." Ruby nudged Weiss, grinning at her. Weiss blushed at her words, but felt like she did not deserve them.

"I'm nowhere near this good." she stated, looking at her mother in awe, then was surprised, along with the rest, as Willow held her sword in front of her, closed her eyes and a large, familiar glyph rotated under her. She began summoning something rather big that turned out be a Petra Gigas. Qrow and Winter gritted their teeth.

"Taking all bets!" Yang exclaimed, loud enough for Qrow to hear, as she used his words, from earlier.

"Very funny." he muttered and leapt into a run from the colossus that swung its limbs at them.

Winter used her glyphs to give herself and even Qrow platforms to jump on, but their acrobatics were immediately interrupted by Willow's glyphs that repelled them, back to where they jumped from and instead of Winter's own glyphs catching them, it was her mother's that tossed them around in the air, until both of them were hit hard by the giant's arms. Willow had an incensed look about her as she looked at her handy-work. "I forgot how invigorating this is!" she exclaimed. "I have not felt this alive in years!" she added, as the Petra Gigas kept moving, with her newfound will, towards Qrow and Winter, whose auras flickered off and they looked up, in alarm, from where they were lying on the ground. The summoned stone-savage hastened its quaking steps, charging at them.

"M-mother!" Winter yelled, yieldingly and Willow noticed she got carried away. The Petra Gigas stopped and vanished, as she called it back into the ether from which many a beast could still be called forth to act on her whim. Winter and Qrow painfully picked themselves up.

"Damn, if she had gotten out o' her funk, sooner, she could've kicked yer dad out, herself, years ago." Qrow muttered to Winter, while Willow was still out of earshot. Winter gave him a small glare, glanced at her mother, then at the ground, as she had to agree with him.

"This...was oddly pleasant." Willow commented as she walked up to them, wiping the sweat from her face with a handkerchief, still trying to breathe evenly. "Your...concerns were well-founded." she told Qrow. "I really am out of shape." she said. Qrow eyed her up, with a stupid grin and Winter noticed.

"If this is you out o' shape, then ye'r just fine." he complemented her.

"I will freeze your eyes shut, if you look at my mother that way!" Winter threatened him.

"Jealous?" Qrow smirked and Winter growled.

"Winter…! He's hardly _your_ age, dear." Willow teased her and Winter glared at her.

"Ouch." Qrow pretended to be hurt.

"I am sorry, if either of you feel embarrassed." Willow stated.

"Heh. Nah. My nieces like t' watch me kick butt, just as much as they like seein' mine get kicked, now an' again. Well, one of 'em, at least." Qrow looked up at the balcony, where even Ruby was still grinning, despite his defeat and Yang definitely had a satisfied smile. "That cheered 'em up." he noted.

"Leave it to a fight to make them content." Winter commented, with a small frown.

"They _are_ huntresses in training." Willow stated. "And I cannot exactly pretend to be any different, after my earlier display." she admitted. "I nearly lost control. It has been so long since I felt such thrill."

"Oh, really?" Qrow had that look, again. He promptly felt a palm strike the back of his head, then another hit his face, from the front and he blinked, wide-eyed.

"I didn't say anythin'!" he exclaimed to both.

"You were thinking it." Winter glared. Yang was laughing up on the balcony.

"What was _that_ about?" Blake asked.

"Oh, I can guess." Yang folded her arms.

"Your mom rules!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping in excitement and Weiss could actually picture her putting it all into writing, with a spray can, on the walls of their estate or the academy's.

"Just don't write it all over my notebook." she told Ruby with a small smile, who's grin briefly disappeared, as she considered it, then it returned in full and she was about to say something. "Or my suitcase." Weiss preempted her and Ruby deflated, with a disappointed moan. Weiss smilingly took her by the arm as she left the balcony to meet her mother and sister, downstairs. The others followed.

"I will need a rest." Willow stated, as she was walking back with Qrow and Winter behind her. "And hope nothing else happens for a few hours."

"Can't bet on it." Qrow realistically said.

"The children could use some rest, as well." Winter noted. "They may be more tired _mentally_ , but if the enemy makes a move, now, they won't be at full strength."

"I dunno." Qrow was not too worried. "They took down some serious Grimm in Mistral, after they've been walkin' all day, carryin' _me_." he said. "They're gonna be fine."

"I don't just mean physical exhaustion." Winter stressed.

"Hey, every one o' those kids had plenty o' baggage, even b'fore they knew 'bout Oz and the rest o' the stuff. And even after all that, they pulled through." Qrow pointed out.

"They have, indeed, already seen and heard far more than any children of their age should." Willow commented and they soon joined the others, with Ironwood at the front still looking captivated.

"That was...an impressive display." Ironwood stated. "I can't even remember the last time I saw you like this."

"Even more disheveled and tired?" Willow joked, at her own expense.

"Glowing." Ironwood said, with the hint of a smile and with more admiration in his voice than he may have intended. Willow subtly raised a brow at his tone, sensing it more.

"I will need a few hours to recover. Should there be a situation, I will be ready." Willow stated and her eyes lingered on Ironwood as he nodded, then at Weiss, as she passed her and nodded to her with a smile.

"I'm gonna need a drink. Then a cold shower." Qrow muttered.

"So you _are_ familiar with the concept." Winter jabbed.

''Of quickly soberin' up with a cold shower? Yeah." Qrow said.

"I _meant_..." Winter started, disappointed.

"I know _what you meant_ , Ice Queen." Qrow only pretended he did not understood her and he had a small smile. Winter had the hint of one.

"Wow. Looks like getting your butts kicked, together, is also good for bonding. Who knew?" Yang commented with a small snorting laugh and they gave her half a glare.

"We should go back to the academy, too." Blake suggested.

"We might as well hang out with the others." Jaune agreed.

"And if there's an attack..." Blake started.

"Then all hands'll be on deck." Yang finished it.

"Try not to tire yourselves." Ironwood told them. "You and the kingdom will need your strength, at any moment."

"We'll be ready." Jaune told him, despite they earlier exchange and started to leave with Ren and Nora. The latter jumped back and grabbed Oscar, who gave a surprised yelp as he was picked up and pulled away like he was a weightless mannequin.

"Well, last one there pays the tab!" Yang said as she grabbed Blake around the shoulder and left.

"Joke's on you!" Qrow called after her. "I ain't goin' there!"

"We're not going, either." Weiss stated.

"We're not?" Ruby asked, in surprise.

"I promised I'd show you something." Weiss told her and Ruby tilted her head.

...

Qrow and Ironwood were walking back, through the promenade, seeing Blake and Yang some distance ahead of them, going at a faster pace with team ORNJ slightly farther along.

"Ya know, it ain't the fightin' or the talkin' that'll get these kids tired. It's all this damn walking." Qrow was saying to him.

"Unless you have a better alternative, calling for a shuttle seems…excessive, over such distance." Ironwood commented, unaware Qrow actually had a different way of getting around. "I would've liked to talk with Oz, more, though." he added, somewhat disappointed that besides their discussion, they have not had the time. "To just catch up." he added.

"Heh. Looked t' me like you would've _liked_ t' talk t' the Mom Schnee, too, back there." Qrow smirked and Ironwood was briefly surprised he caught that, then gave him a small glare. "Heh-hey. I get it!" Qrow shrugged. "She's a _boss_! And she even puts you in yer place. I can see why the _General_ might like a dame like that."

"And _you_?" Ironwood saw Qrow was impressed by her, as well and tried to turn it back on him.

"Eh, it doesn't matter what I like." Qrow said in a suddenly dejected tone, looking at the ground and Ironwood found it odd, since he knew he had a reputation for, at least, trying to be a ladies' man. He was not sure if his flirting and comments ever got him in the good graces of any woman and the way he responded, just then, gave him the impression Qrow actually believed he would not have anything like that, ever, in his life, to begin with. But, he decided not to ask him about it and remained silent, letting Qrow's words finish that conversation.

…

On a mostly empty public shuttle bus, Weiss stood with Ruby at a window, with Winter behind them, as they rode along the not particularly busy roads, seeing people inside cafés, restaurants and all manner of shops in a commercial district. Ruby kept looking at Weiss' smile, fidgeting and turning to look outside at everything, as she still did not know where she was taking her. "So…where are we going?" Ruby finally asked, getting a little anxious.

"There." Weiss looked and Ruby followed her eyes, then gasped, as after a turn, the CCT Tower was suddenly in view, looming over them more, as it did over everything else, the closer they got. The smile Weiss had curved more as she saw Ruby's grin widen. The latter pressed against the window as the shuttle pulled in for a stop at Alliance Plaza. The doors parted and Ruby jumped out, gazing up, then hopped back to hug Weiss as the latter stepped on the ground, her smile even warmer as Ruby grabbed her hand, excitedly dragging her off towards the tower. Winter publicly allowed herself to smile after them or perhaps she no longer cared to guard her emotions when she saw how happy her sister was with her friend. But, she was also on guard and she took a careful look around them, as a patrolling guard was passing near her, taking some nervous glances, from behind his eye-shield.

"Soldier…!" Winter addressed him and he was startled she spoke to him, but snapped at attention.

"Y-yes, Ma'am!" he replied.

"Have all units received a description of a female suspect, recently?" she asked, even though she saw the bulletins and holographic posters, wanting to confirm if everyone was keeping an eye out.

"Yes Ma'am. The General released the information, himself." the soldier said.

"Were there any sightings, yet?" Winter pressed him.

"A few units reported seeing the woman matching the suspect, but they all believe they saw someone like her, before the information was even released and…before the attack at sea. But, not since." he explained, suggesting Emerald was laying low.

"Understood. Carry on!" she told him and he went on his way. Winter looked around, once more, then found Weiss and Ruby with her eyes, as the latter was taking pictures with her sister in them and the tower in the background, before they went towards the entrance. Winter hastened her steps to not fall behind. Based on their suspicions, Emerald's semblance was limited by the number of minds she could affect and not distance. Staying farther away to spot her, before her illusion could affect her, was no guarantee it would not work, if Emerald saw her first, Winter thought. Though she was hoping she would not attempt anything, at the same time, she also expected that she would, so they could have a chance to capture her. Of course, the odds of Emerald attempting an infiltration of the CCT, within the same time-frame as their visit, were low.

Ruby and Weiss were checked, then let in through the security gate, after the former had to put every metal item on her person, onto a table, which included Crescent Rose and all ammunition for it, much to the alarm of the guards, but Weiss was quick to explain, at least, who Ruby was, as she did not need an explanation for herself or why she was carrying a weapon. One of the guards, curious about her weapon and how compact it was, accidentally triggered the mechanism that transformed it. He gaped in surprise as it turned into a scythe in his hands, nearly poking one of his fellow guardsman in the nether regions with the pointy, bottom-end and almost butted the other in the head with the scythe's blade as it thrust forth. They were even more surprised how the little girl could even wield a weapon that was even taller than her. Ruby cutely folded it back and strapped it back on, then packed away her other belongings, as a female officer with a tan-complexion, chin-length black hair and red eyes, was watching from a soda-machine, narrowing her eyes.

The door to the women's restroom was pushed open in a hurry and the woman stepped in front of the mirror to feel and check the base of her hair, to see that her natural green hair, under it, was still covered completely. Emerald sighed, as the wig she snatched on the way, likely from a thrift-store or a proper high-end shop, disguised her well. The length, color and shape of her fake-hair, as well as the way it was parted, was very much like Cinder's and in that moment Emerald wished she could use her semblance on herself to see the woman, as she was, before Ruby disfigured her. But, all she could do was to rely on her memory to see that image of her and her anger resurfaced. She wanted to make Ruby pay for what she did, but quickly reminded herself that she had a mission to carry out.

" _Her situation need not distract you."_ Salem's warning echoed in her head. _"Do_ _ **not**_ _let it!_

And if she was being honest and as much as she hated agreeing with Watts, it was mostly Cinder's obsession with Ruby that ultimately lead to their failure at Haven. Cinder altered their plan, just to get revenge and Emerald had to resist her need for the same, if she was to succeed. She left the restroom and slipped back outside, her little side-mission for Watts, already accomplished, as the last device of his she had left, she already placed inside a terminal, where no one would find it. Not in time, anyway.

…

At the buffet, Yang was sitting with Blake, Ilia and Neon, who was not working. She was talking to K, at the other table, who was with Flynt, FNKI's fourth member, Isaiah and interestingly enough, Scarlet. Sun, Neptune and Sage were chatting at a corner-table with a couple of other students, some of who appeared to be fangirls. By the sounds of it, Sun was telling them about their fight with the Sea Feilong and how it sprouted wings from its back, in the middle of the fight.

"So, wait…" Yang was asking. "If he's Isaiah, then what does 'K' stand for?" she asked the large K, who let out a laugh.

"Nah, you wouldn't be able'a say it!" he said.

"Oh, come on!" Yang exclaimed, with a smile, as he was clearly amusing himself with keeping his first-name from them. "I can't be _that_ hard."

"Oh-kay. You asked!" K held up his hands, defensively. "It's Keambiroiro." he said, slowly. Yang, Blake and Ilia blinked, just as slowly and Neon just giggled.

"Uh…O-kay." Yang let it sink in, thinking she only may have been proven wrong, as it was not that difficult a name.

"Not the strangest name oh'n campus." Flynt noted. "O'h the longest." he added.

"Some people ah' sens'ah'tive 'bout names, man!" K exclaimed.

"Yeah. Like the Schnee's dad!" Flynt recalled the live-news. "He went _ape_ on the lil' heiress, when she told 'im he ain't gonna be a Schnee no mo'h! Ah still can't believe they're fy-nally gonna put 'im oh'n ice." he practically cheered. "You guys _really_ know how tah _shake up_ a place!"

"Yep." Yang leaned back, with her hands behind her head, as her coat was draped over her chair. "Besides saving Haven, it's best gig we did, so far." she said, pretending to be bragging and flexed her muscle.

"Humble t' the end." Flynt muttered, with a small smirk.

"All the Faunus can finally work under better circumstances, too." Blake noted. "And find better jobs, even."

"That, too." Yang smiled. "She's already my secretary." she smirked, thumbing at Blake, who lightly elbowed her with a smile and Yang put her good arm around her, resting it on the back of Blake's seat.

Ghira walked into the dimly lit hall and spotted his daughter and her friends, as the four girls talked with the guys at the other table. He slowly approached, noting Blake's smile, as she comfortably conversed, with her friend's arm around her.

"...and she's more like a bodyguard, anyway." Blake looked at Yang with a smile.

"Those guys had it coming." Yang shrugged, in her defense, pun intended, as they were probably discussing what happened in the worker's district. They noticed Ghira, as he walked up to them.

"Oh...hi, dad!" Blake sat up.

"Afternoon!" Ghira greeted all of them. "Although, it's...still difficult to tell the time of day, in here." he comment.

"Did you already talk to the teachers?" Blake asked.

"Not only that! We have already contacted some of the city officials and have decided on an immediate action to give stability to the workers who were affected by the arrests and those who will be. We even heard they have already arrested figures of authority who accepted bribes." Ghira explained.

"Nice!" Flynt exclaimed. 'Bout time! Maybe my dad can open his business, again, b'fore he reti'yez." He could be hopeful and Yang recalled him mention his father's business at the tournament.

"If Weiss calls the shots, he will." Yang told him.

"Yes. If Miss Schnee is going to dictate how the Dust Company conducts its business, I'm certain she will right the wrongs her father has done to other businesses." Ghira said. "With that said, I know it is already turning dark, outside, but I have actually come to ask Ilia if she would like to come with me and the city officials, back to the workers, to connect with the families. " he looked at Ilia, who immediately stood, after he finished his sentence.

"Yes!" she said and looked at Neon. "Um...would you, like to...come with me?" she shyly asked.

"Sure!" Neon got up. "We only visited once, since they closed the borders and they brought all the soldiers in." she uncomfortably related. "We try to come by every week to do some charity work with other teams, who care. But, the hired guards just scare people away and wouldn't let us do all we would want."

"Not anymore they won't." Yang said and got up, as well. "Let's go!" she exclaimed, taking her coat.

"Want to join us?" Isaiah asked Scarlet, who nodded with a smile, then let his team know where he was off to and Ghira was overwhelmed they all joined him.

...

In the academy's training hall, a few interested students hung around to watch as the blonde boy, with the red sash, shield and sword was practicing against a younger, black-haired, country-boy with a cane. To their surprise, both seemed skilled enough. One was fast to block, parry and to retaliate and the other hit in a flurry and agilely leapt around to try and attack him where he was the least protected. Both were testing and eventually pushing each other to do better. To be faster. And to hit harder. Oscar bent back as Jaune's sword grazed his aura, on the tip of his nose. He firmly planted his cane, with one hand, leaning on it for support and twisted into what would have been a proper drop-kick had he not kept himself from falling to the ground as he bashed Jaune's shield with it, which the latter brought up just in time, knowing he had left himself open, after his attack. Oscar's kick pushed Jaune back, giving him time to recover from his counter-attack and assume a stance.

Ironwood arrived to routinely inspect any session that was scheduled or any students who were simply using the hall, outside of classes and saw what they were doing. He sighed and stood next to Ren and Nora, who noticed him.

"I told them not to waste their energy." Ironwood commented, with a shake of his head, but was curious about Oscar's skills, in particular, who was getting better at breaking through Jaune's defenses, as every passing minute made him recall more of his predecessor's muscle-memory. At the same time, Jaune was also learning what was not working anymore and tried to adapt to Oscar's rapidly growing combat prowess, being able to fend off attacks he only tried a couple of times on him, before they stopped being effective.

 _"Oscar..."_ he heard Ozpin, briefly stopping, as there was some distance between them. _"May I?"_ he asked for permission. Jaune raised a brow at Oscar's sudden pause, then his eyes narrowed, when Oscar's flashed, as Ozpin took over. Ironwood, Ren and Nora looked both intrigued and worried.

"You have improved much, Mr. Ark." he told him. "Even compared to your training in Mistral."

"I didn't have choice." Jaune stated, somewhat coldly and Ozpin listened with a pained expression. "Either I got better and started pulling my weight or I'd let my friends keep doing everything and save me every time, until they got hurt or worse." he explained. "That's not a real choice, either." he repeated. "You know, it's funny..." he somewhat bitterly started. "That the relic for _choice_ just happens to be the one at Beacon." Ozpin had to admit there was a fair bit of irony in it and yet...

"You _do_ keep choosing, Mr. Arc." Ozpin stated and Jaune could barely react as he almost instantly crossed the distance between them, his attack narrowly being deflected to the side, by his shield. He blocked a few more, before he was pushed back and he frowned at Ozpin, who held his cane to the side, walking toward him. "You're choosing to _fight_." Ozpin pointed out, commending him and Jaune was briefly surprised, then narrowed his eyes and took a stance as Ozpin attacked.

Ozpin was faster, more precise and even hit slightly harder than Oscar, as he utilized his aura to boost his attacks. Jaune had less and less success defending and countering, as Ozpin drove or outright batted his blade to the side, swept at his legs with either his own or with his cane, getting low to the ground, which made it hard for Jaune to direct his swings and to block, because as soon as he lowered himself, Ozpin was on top, as he spun above him, fluidly stringing together his attack. He kept alternating as he pressured Jaune, until he managed to sweep his leg, making him fall on his back. He briefly held his cane, pointing under Jaune's chin, to make him yield, as the latter gritted his teeth from frustration. Ozpin lifted his cane, from Jaune's frown, stepping back and extended a hand, which Jaune slowly took and his sourness was gone by the time he was pulled to his feet.

"Months ago, neither you nor Oscar could have lasted this long." Ozpin told him. "And if I had tried focusing on exhausting your aura, instead, I would have exhausted _myself_ , before I could even come close." he added and Jaune was surprised he could gauge it that well, but then again, Pyrrha did. "You have made tremendous progress since your first day at Beacon." Ozpin made the comparison and Jaune regarded him with a guilty look.

"You knew I had no place being there, didn't you?" Jaune suddenly asked and Ozpin was slightly taken aback by his question. "Everyone could see I wasn't good enough to be there. And I _wasn't._ I only got in, because I faked my papers. But, you knew that..." Jaune scrutinized him. "You had to." Ozpin understood him and his confession came as no surprise.

"Papers have always been a formality and were never a true reflection of what a person was truly capable of." Ozpin replied. "One's potential cannot be judged from arbitrary numbers. And neither can be their person. Both are sides to a coin. And the latter can very well determine the former." he answered.

"So...I guess that's a _yes_." Jaune understood him, looking at the ground, with a small frown. "I bet Miss Goodwitch said it out loud, too." he jokingly muttered.

"She did." Ozpin had a small smile. "During your initiation." he added and Jaune groaned. "And I'm very much looking forward to returning to Vale. She and the rest of the faculty will be proud to see how much you have all improved."

"And when's that going to be?" Jaune was curious.

"Sooner, rather than later, hopefully." Ozpin told him, with clear uncertainty. He sighed. "Excuse me." he said and released control to Oscar, to likely rest. The latter leaned forward, hands on his knees, but did not fall on them, like last time, as he panted from the exhaustion that suddenly caught up to him.

"You okay?" Jaune asked.

"Hhh. Better." Oscar stated, straightening up with a sigh. "So..." he awkwardly started. "Do you think they'll let me join an academy if...I lie about my age?" he asked, only half-jokingly and Jaune could tell.

"Well...if I could get away...uh, _sort of_ get away..." he corrected himself. "With my fake transcripts, it should be even easier for _you_." He considered the skills Oscar already had and he figured Oscar wanted to properly train himself even more and climb the ranks to become a fully-fledged, recognized and licensed huntsmen, as fast as he could, to better help the world.

...

The dark of the evening could already be seen outside the windows of the Xiao Long-Rose family home and the lights were on inside the living room, where the television was showing live news that came in, presented by Lisa Lavender.

"According to reports that arrived minutes ago, from the kingdom of Atlas, a number of arrests have been made, after a ring of corruption was exposed. Among those charged and arrested are Jacque Schnee, who has been relieved of his position at the head of the Schnee Dust Company, by none other than his daughter, Weiss Schnee, after an attempted kidnapping. The missing heiress, who recently returned from Mistral, following a thwarted attack on Haven Academy, assumed control of the company and has practically declared war on corruption within the kingdom. Unconfirmed reports say that more arrests are sure to be followed." she finished and the TV was turned off by Taiyang, who placed the remote on the table. He had a large backpack on and appeared to be ready to leave.

"Looks like we've already missed _one_ party, at least." he commented as Raven stood next to him.

"You have everything?" Raven asked, not in her usual gruff tone, either.

"Yeah. I checked in with Pete and Bart, just in case they needed any help in Vale, but they said Glynda's got everything under control, as usual. So, we're skipping a stop." he told Raven, who nodded. He turned off the lights, locked the door and walked a few paces from the house. Raven unsheathed her sword. "I know you don't really need that to use your semblance, you know." he commented and Raven gave him a small glare. The stars dotted the sky as a swing of a sword interrupted the quiet concert of crickets, followed by a strange hum and the sound of their footsteps suddenly disappeared.


	14. Chapter 14

Ch. 14 – White Rook Down

Oddly enough, with the lights illuminating the rows of streets, plazas, monuments and providing a clear view inside many venues, from which the sounds of banter and soft music could be heard, the capital felt much more alive, in the evening. Perhaps it was because the darkness covered most of the greyness and even the cold, white, modern, energy-efficient lighting was more pleasant to the eyes than the lifeless labyrinth of concrete the city was during the day. The bottom of the sky was still light, as the sun dipped below the horizon. Under the shuffling middle-aged and elderly pairs going to or from theaters and other fine establishments, much deeper than the rodent-less and now Geist-infested sewers that carried even high-society's waste, the soil and all the bones of every creatures that were hidden in it rumbled as a machine, no one but a madman would even think of building, was digging its way through.

"You sure we're even heading the right way?" Mercury asked Watts. "You said if we were even a bit off, we'd miss it by a lot." He was questioning their course.

"I'm already picking up a faint signal from the device our litt'l Emerald left at the relic's location." Watts replied, looking at his instruments. "Which means my calculations were correct, of course." he added, as he still had to work out their general trajectory, to reach the city, with room for correction, as they zeroed in on the transmitter's signal coming from within Ironwood's vault. "And it will soon be time for the grand opening." he added as the Geists began stirring on the Seer's glowing command.

…

In the dorms, Winter was fully-clothed and pinning her hair in its usual bun. Towels hung a chair indicated she had just been in the showers. Klein completely returned to his duties at their estate and was no longer in the dorm. In the other room, Ruby and Weiss sat on the latter's bed, as the former was showing pictures she had taken to Jaune, Nora and Ren, behind them, plus Neptune, who was leaning over the three of them. Oscar actually sat on the edge, still quite uncomfortable with being on the same bed with all the girls. He had his cane extended and was resting his hands on top of it, as it stood next to the bed. Blake and Yang were on the latter's bed, where Yang was lying on her back and Blake sat at her side.

"We should totally make it, like, a thing to go up all the CCT towers and take a team pic!" Yang said. "You know, when they fix the one in Vale, anyway." she shrugged.

"Aaah! That'd be so cool!" Ruby exclaimed in response, while out on the corridor, Ilia was chatting with Neon. Scarlet with Isaiah. Sun, Sage, Flynt and K were likely still in the Arts Wing. And Ghira was probably with the faculty. The students finally seemed to be taking the adults' advice to rest.

They heard the quick flapping of wings outside the window and all looked to see a crow had landed, then tapped the pane with its beak, twice.

"We don't want anything!" Yang dismissively waved a hand, looking away with a smirk and the bird tapped even harder, twice, then cawed.

"I'll get it." Blake said, taking pity on it, as Yang pouted. She went to open the window. The crow flew in and perched itself on Oscar's cane, of all things.

"Hey...!" he exclaimed and shook it, but it did not move. Oscar stood and rattled it even harder, but it still held on. Winter stood in the doorway, raising a brow at the scene.

 _"Allow me."_ Ozpin told him and they switched. The corvid curiously tilted its head at his smile. Ozpin retracted the shaft and held the handle upside down, dangling it, but the cheeky avian still would not let go. "Persistent." he said and pointed his index-finger close, which the bird eyed with suspicion. He poked it and to everyone's surprise, but most of all Qrow's, he fell on his back, in human-form, blinking up at Ozpin, with his mouth slightly agape. Yang sat up on her bed.

"How the heck'id'you do _that_!" Qrow asked.

"I'm able to temporarily negate the effects of my magic." Ozpin noted, as if it was something that should have been obvious. "It would be rather unfortunate if I couldn't." he added and Qrow briefly looked to see Winter closed the door behind her, so people outside would not overhear anything.

"Since _when_?" he turned back to Ozpin, as he sat up, annoyed.

"Hey...!" Yang started. "If you can do that, then how did you even...lose...against Cinder?" she asked the obvious question, without saying he actually died, as she put a foot down, then the other.

"You told us you gave the Maidens their power." Jaune recalled, as they got off the bed. "Couldn't you turn it off?" he asked, folding his arms.

"In order to negate it, I'd have to make physical contact and even then the disruption would be inversely proportional to the amount of power they have. As I've said, what I gave Qrow was small..." he said as Qrow got up. "Thus I _could_ keep him from using it for an extended period of time. However, I gave the Maidens most of what I had, therefore, attempting the same with them would only stop their power for a few seconds, at best, vital as, though, those seconds could be. Also, an adept Maiden could, for example, freeze me solid from the inside or... _incinerate_ me before I could get close." he said with a ting of pain in his voice and everyone could guess, which one of those happened to him, considering Cinder's affinity with fire.

"While we're on the subject..." Ozpin continued, quickly moving on, as he took a few steps and made a turn. "All of you must heed the following. Though their power comes from me, the creativity with which they may use it is their own. And I have seen many Maidens utilize its magic in ways even I never imagined. Two of the Maidens, to the best of our knowledge, are lost to us." Yang frowned, looking to the side, again. "One is an ally." Ozpin looked at Weiss. "And one remains unknown to us. Should the Summer Maiden turn out to be hostile, we must use extreme caution when approaching her. Whenever it will happen." he warned them.

"Well, that set the mood, again." Yang muttered, folding her arms.

"The Schnees can use ice." Blake spoke, realizing something. "But, that comes from their semblance and they don't even use _dust_ or magic to do it. Not the kind the Maidens have, it seems." she pointed out. "Why is that? Why would the relic give them that…element?" she asked.

"I have wondered about it, myself." Ozpin said, holding his cane behind his back and putting the other hand to his chin, in thought, before he gestured with it. "At first I thought it was simply, because of the climate the relic was first found in." he started as Winter came further in, near the bed and her sister. "But, then I went deeper and considered...how elaborate a single snowflake is. How perfect, its structure. And yet, it is something that naturally occurs. Made by nature itself. A wonder of _it_ and of creation. That is...only _my_ take on it, of course." he shrugged.

"Well, ain't that poetic." Qrow muttered. "We're back t' square one with the Maidens. Two of 'em just passed their power who knows where. If Cinder even died, that is." he glanced at Yang. "We actually know where one is, like we did with Amber." he looked at Weiss and Winter, more positively, then it vanished. "But, we still have no idea where the last one is and if ye thought goin' through Mistral was a tough hike, then Vacuo's gonna be worse."

"And _back_ to depressing!" Yang exclaimed. "You two need to work on your pep-talk." she told them and Qrow turned, pocketing his hands.

"It wasn't supposed t' be one." he muttered, starting for the door, but a large red and black, swirling portal appeared in his way. "Huh?" He got alarmed, gritted his teeth and his sword was off his back, ready to strike. Yang got up from the bed, arming her gauntlets.

"What is...?" Winter started to ask what it was, when a lightly-dressed, blonde, tanned man, with a backpack, walked out of it, stopping in surprise that he was in a dorm room.

"Tai?" Qrow stared at him, lowering his sword.

"Dad!?" Yang lowered her hands.

"Oh! Hey!" Taiyang goofily grinned, as it was not at all weird he was there. He looked from Yang to Qrow and soon found Ruby, who was on the verge of tears and took a step back.

"Dad..." she whimpered, scared that he might be angry, but Taiyang simply smiled at her.

"Hey, pumpkin." he gently said, spreading his arms, motioning for her to come and hug him. Ruby took a running-jump and clung to him, crying for long seconds, as the others smiled. She slowly let go and looked up at him.

"I..." she sniffed. "I-I...I'm so sorry!" she squeaked. Yang was smiling, while Weiss and Blake were looking on, their hearts melting along with those of the others.

"Your safe..." he put his hands on her shoulders, kneeling some. "And that's all that matters to me. Heck, you even saved an academy! I'm proud of you, sweetie." He stood. "Both of you." he looked at Yang, who went to hug him tight. He kept a hand on Ruby's head, ruffling it, as she wiped her tears. Taiyang sighed and his smile disappeared, all of a sudden. "You're not gonna stay over there are you!?" he asked, with some harshness. Yang and Qrow were not surprised who came through next. Raven slowly walked in and the portal disappeared. She was looking at the ground, unable to meet her daughter's eyes or her brother's. The latter was glaring daggers into her, while Yang was frowning at her, wondering what she was doing with her dad. Even if she considered he was probably the only person left, besides them, she could open a portal to.

"You got some nerve coming back." Qrow snarled, his voice low.

"She knows, Qrow." Taiyang was not even trying to calm him. "I'm not gonna defend her, either. She told me what happened and what she did." Qrow and Yang both doubted she told him everything. "There's no taking any of it back and she knows that." Taiyang said, looking at Raven. Qrow holstered his sword, skeptically.

"So, why are you here?" Yang asked, not through her father, but directly, so her mother would say something and Taiyang could sense that. He looked at Raven.

"I..." she started, with a long pause. "Know I can't make it right." she said, then looked up, with a look of defeat and desperation. "But, I want to." she said and up until that point Yang was the only one to see such a vulnerable side to her, barring her farther, perhaps.

Ozpin also had a look of guilt about him, as he stood with the family his secrets drove apart, he realized. Raven was to blame for a lot of decisions she made down the road, after she left them, but she did so, because of what she learned and Summer...they also lost her to the mission. His mission. But, he also knew he was the last person Raven would want to speak up for her.

"You tried to kill us!" Qrow spat. "You'd've left yer own _daughter_ to die and the only reason she didn't is because she's got more fight in 'er than you ever even cared t' know!" Raven briefly closed her eyes as she looked at the ground, again, while his words, too, cut into her. Yang already threw that in her face. Those same thoughts came back, but scattered as she felt a hand lightly touch her and she looked at Blake, who could probably see she was going to a dark place, again. She closed her eyes, exhaling and the anger was gone from them, when she opened them. "Even if ye had kept Spring t' yerself, we woud've been fine. But, double-crossing _us_ **and** them? How the hell did you think it was gonna work out _fer any of us_!?"

"Qrow..." He turned to Yang. "Enough." she told him, not with pity, forgiveness or even understanding, but to stop all the hate from completely filling everything. Qrow gave her an odd look, surprised she, of all people, was telling him that. But, he could see she was trying her best not be like her mother...or him, in that moment. He backed off, inhaling sharply, and went to stand at the window, where he let it out, glaring outside. A few moments passed in silence, as everyone kept looking at Yang, Raven, Taiyang, Qrow and Ozpin.

"Well, I thought the _mood_ would be killed..." Taiyang said. "So I brought someone else." he shook his backpack. "Come on, buddy!" Something rustled inside, then Zwei poked his head out and gave a happy bark.

"Zweiii!" Ruby squealed and he jumped from the backpack, onto her as Ruby hugged him to her chest, crying into his furry coat. Since he could not even lick her face, he nuzzled her, his tiny tail wagging. Ruby was soon smiling, then grinning in his face as he held him up in front of herself. He barked and turned his head to look at Weiss and barked, again, remembering her. Weiss was also happy to see him and Ruby stepped closer to her, so she could pat and scratch his head, all around. Zwei was enjoying it, but then noticed Winter and tilted his head, letting out a confused whimper and looked back at Weiss, who giggled.

"Yyyes! She's a bwigger me." Weiss told him, in a babying voice, as she scratched the side of his face and it surprised Winter, who had a faint smile at her sister's behavior. Zwei bent back, looking behind him, then turned his head as he spotted Blake, who took a step behind Yang.

"So..." Taiyang spoke. "We just watched the news about all the arrests, before we hopped over. Hope we didn't miss anything else. I mean, I _do_. But, you know what I mean." he said. "Oh! I'm Taiyang, by the way!" he waved with one hand and had the other at the back of his neck. "Hiya!" he introduced himself and everyone said a word of greeting in unison that drowned one another out.

"We're kinda in between attacks, right now." Yang said, as if she was talking about employment.

"You say that like you're job-hunting." Taiyang commented, letting a laugh.

"Just hunting." Yang said, turning to Blake. "So...this is Blake." she pulled her close and Blake bowed with a small blush. And everyone after that nodded as she introduced them. "That's Weiss, her sister Winter, Nora, Ren, Jaune, Neptune..." she turned to look at the last person, who was actually closest to them. "And...he's..." she hesitated.

"That's Oz." Qrow said, over the shoulder. "Surprise." he muttered. Yang dropped her hand and Taiyang was blinking at him, wide-eyed and mouth open. Raven narrowed her eyes, with a frown.

"Taiyang...it has been a long time." Ozpin smiled with a nod and Taiyang looked relieved. He let out a sigh.

"Geez, Oz...we didn't know where you were, after Beacon!" he stepped closer. "I knew you and Qrow had something planned, but none of us could be sure if it'd pan out." he said. "And I definitely didn't think when I'd see you, again, you'd be a _kid_." he gestured at him with both hands. "This is so _weird_!"

"That is the general consensus." Ozpin said with a small smile.

"So, uh...who...is this, then?" Taiyang gestured at the boy. He blinked in surprised as his eyes flashed and his mannerism changed, including his voice, which became softer.

"Uh, hi. I'm Oscar." he extended a hand, less awkwardly then he used to and after a second of letting it sink in, Taiyang friendlily shook it, with a smile, nearly yanking him off his feet, though.

"Taiyang Xiao Long!" he enthusiastically introduced himself, as Yang and Ruby smiled at them. "So, you two can just switch?" he asked.

"Well, he's…actually resting, again. He keeps coming back, when there's something to tell, but he hasn't recovered, yet. After Haven." Oscar explained. Qrow turned to look from the corner of his eyes.

"I'm guessing he took you guys on a ride." Taiyang said.

"You can say that." Yang started. "We probably know more than you, now." she folded her arms.

"Oh? You think so, huh?" Taiyang teasingly asked. "I wouldn't be so sure." he smirked, but it faded as Yang fixed him with a small glare that told him she was not being funny about it. "Oh." He looked away.

A knock came on the door and they heard Ghira. "Blake?" They exchanged looks and nodded.

"Come in, dad!" Blake said and the door partially opened. Ghira peeked, then stepped in, surprised by the two new faces.

"Oh. We have newcomers, I see." he commented and his eyes lingered on an armed Raven.

"Who's _this_ big bear?" Taiyang friendlily exclaimed, hands on his hips and Ghira awkwardly stared.

"Uh, he's more of a _cat_ , actually." Yang pointed out.

"I'm Ghira Belladonna." Ghira introduced himself, stepping in as Taiyang stepped up. "Blake's father." he extended his hand and Taiyang shook it.

"Taiyang Xiao Long." he said, then nodded at Yang. "The blonde with the attitude…" Then ruby. "And the little rebel, there, are mine." He looked at Raven. "And she's Raven…my, uh…" he hesitated. "Ex?" Raven rolled her eyes, looking away. "We never married." He shrugged.

"Dad!" Yang exclaimed, looking at him, slightly embarrassed. Or rather, she was showing it more than her mother was capable of. A bark came from Zwei.

"Oh! And that's Zwei, our dog." he thumbed behind him at the excited canine. Ghira was suddenly a little nervous as Zwei curiously titled his head at him.

"Oh…n-nice…dog." Ghira held up his hands, as if he was trying to keep Zwei away by making him stay.

"You…needed something dad?" Blake stepped out from behind Yang, throwing a quick glance at Zwei.

"Only to tell you we've done all we could, for today, with the faculty and the city's administration." Ghira told her. "It has been a rather…chaotic day." he said, looking at Taiyang at the end.

"Eh, well…even if they're not looking for it, trouble follows my kids around, anyway." Taiyang said. "Right Qrow?" he looked at him and the latter turned his head, with a brow raised, then he glared.

"Shut up…" he muttered as he turned back.

"So, is the General around?" Taiyang asked.

"Actually, he was on his way out, I do not know where, when I left. It appeared to be urgent." Ghira told him. Qrow glanced back, at that, again and turned to leave the room.

"Where are _you_ going?" Taiyang asked.

"T' find, James. If somethin's goin' on, he should tell us, without goin' off on his own." Qrow said. He got out onto the corridor and took his scroll out to call him, but stopped in his tracks. He saw he had no signal. He looked up to see some of the student were looking at their devices, also, scratching their heads and shrugging at each other, then he went back to the room.

"…not exactly dressed for the season, I admit." Taiyang was sheepishly saying, as Qrow came back in.

"Hey! There's no signal!" he held up his scroll, thumbing behind him, outside. "And it ain't just me!"

…

The device that was attached to a terminal in the CCT began scrambling the network, shutting down its defenses and services, one by one. In the drill-sub Watts finished entering his commands and turned to the Seer. "We may begin." he told it and the orb glowed brighter than ever before. The Geist army sprang to life, rising to the streets like the damned souls of the dead. Tires screeched, as vehicles ran off the road, into one another or into buildings and terrified screams pierced the air, everywhere around the city-center. Soldiers did not know what to shoot at as driverless cars, lampposts, cleaning drones and all manner of otherwise inanimate objects came to life, wreaking havoc around them.

In the sea the great Leviathan's eyes flashed. A low, long growl came from within, its huge mouth opened and seconds later, entire hordes of Sea Feilongs rushed out from the dark abyss of the creatures gullet, swimming towards the surface. The emerged from the water and one by one they opened the wings on their backs to take to the sky, where a wide flock of Griffons was flying in, at an alarming speed, already over the shores of the continent, followed by the soaring serpents of the sea.

Far behind them, the waves were tossing the wreckage of crashed Atlesian ships, with only a few survivors holding on and many more already sinking to the bottom, which would become their grave.

…

Sirens blared all over the capital as the police and soldiers were doing their best to contain the terror that has descended upon their largely unsuspecting city, confirming the fears of those who believed they were not protected, anymore. Ironwood was already inside the storage facility, when he noticed something was amiss and the alarms went off. He kept failing to raise anyone on the comms.

"What is going on!?" he demanded to know, looking at the two soldiers who were with him.

"We don't know, Sir! This is something else. But, there was a disturbance in the lower sectors." one guard told him and it instantly set off the bells in Ironwood.

"Follow me!" he started towards the elevator.

…

At the Academy, the courtyard was filling with armed students as the city's defenses refused to come online, as they should have and some of the soldiers were worriedly pointing it out. Team RWBY, ORNJ, SSSN and FNKI stood at the top of the stairs and looked out at the flashing lights coming from the city as ambulances, police and firefighters were all scrambling and quickly running low on manpower, in their effort to keep everything contained.

"The whole damn network's offline!" Qrow cursed.

"The emergency services cannot coordinate without it!" Winter exclaimed.

"We gotta get down there to help." Taiyang stated. They turned to look at all the students who were ready to defend the academy, as the teachers themselves all filed out in front of the entrance, armed. The teams nodded between one another.

"Let's do this!" Sun exclaimed and they started down the stairs.

"Hey!" They stopped to turn back to Qrow.

"What? You wanna give a pep-talk, _now_!?" Yang asked.

"Don't spread yerselves out too much, we can't help _everyone_!" Qrow told them to be realistic, as they had to learn that lesson, as well, if they have not learned it already.

"Guess not." Yang muttered, not exactly expecting him to say something like that, either and they ran on, towards the outbreak. The adults all started after them.

…

Police officers, as well as soldiers were ineffective as neither had enough experience with Geists and could only futilely shoot at the lifeless bodies of the objects they used as their limbs. Posts became snakes. Cars and drones wildly drove around, smashing through everything until they either broke apart or were eventually blown apart by weapons-fire. A lot of civilians could run into their homes, shelters or simply within any four falls, where they were either safe or they had to fight appliances and the very building itself that could kill them. Many others did not make it even that far. Out of the rubble of already destroyed walls that crushed unfortunate souls rose the stones themselves, animated by the Geists. Though not as large as the Petra Gigas, these smaller golems and soldiers formed of the detritus did just as much chaos. A soldier could blow half its body away, with his weapon, but then was merciless pulverized by what could still move and attack. Others were slammed against walls and vehicles or fell off the roofs, as the rampaging rocks and wrecks wrought their worst nightmares that they did not even have, until then, to life.

A female officer and guardsman were making their last stand, protecting the entrance to a building full of defenseless civilians, as several of the creatures advanced on them. They fired the last of their bullets and braced for their end, when a few well-aimed shots made the beasts stumble, then crumble as their unshielded white faces were blown clean off. The teams have arrived, launching into battle, without a word, reducing everything that came alive or what fled from them, to dust, as the Geists wildly flew around, trying to find something they could possess to survive or to fight back with.

Ruby and Neptune were proficient in hitting them from longer distance, able to shoot their faces, before they could cover them, once they were distracted. The heavy-hitters, Nora and Sage, worked together with Jaune. Nora smacked them around with her hammer, while Sage destroyed their limbs with his strong swings and Jaune delivered the final strike, slashing and stabbing the faces of the Geists.

Blake, Ilia, Ren, Sun and Scarlet were good from mid-range, while team FNKI and Weiss were crowd-control. The latter froze them in place or slowed them with her glyphs and Neon dashed between them, hitting their legs with her Ice-Dust Nunchakus. Flint and his Killer Quartet slowed them and the larger ones, with his soundwaves pushing at them, until the others had enough time and openings to deal with them. Keambiroiro screamed, as if he was on stage, sending out a burst that was strong enough to make the largest of the Gigas reel from it. Another one made it fall over, backwards. Isaiah carried his violin and its bow. He prepared to strike a cord and whipped the bow towards a Gigas, letting lose a high-pitched, sharp, blue, crescent-shaped energy that bifurcated the beast, the top half of which fell to the ground, leaving its head wide-open to Neon, who jumped and smashed the white face of the helpless Geist in.

The adults saw they were all handling everything well and barely had anything to take care of, when they heard some commotion coming from the Schnee Estate, as some of the remaining Geists fled underground, where the teams could not follow, while others flew back towards parts of the city that were also under attack. Teams SSSN and FNKI gave chase to assist the police and the soldiers.

"I will go with them!" Ghira told the others and went after them, while the rest moved back towards the Schnee Estate.

They approached and saw the walls of the ground floor were broken down and from the rising cloud of dust two Arma Gigas stomped outside, swinging their large swords, as the weapons of the guards had no effect on them, since any weak-spots were protected by the thick armored plates. Weiss, in particular looked worried, as she knew how much trouble just one of those possessed suits could be. Even if she has come a long way, since fighting the one. It also meant there had to be a group of Geists within each. Raven glanced at her sheathe and was reminded she used up all her dust-blades, in her fight against Cinder. She mentally cursed herself for not taking the time to refill her custom gear. The others could immediately tell, as well, that their weapons would be completely ineffective.

"This is gonna be rough." Qrow muttered, as the two Arma Gigas started to trudge towards them, but after only a few steps, black glyphs appeared under both, stopping them. They turned white and a cold flash erupted from beneath them, encasing them in a pillar of ice. The glyphs turned yellow and form thin air, twin bolts of lightning struck the suits, shattering the ice and smiting the Geists that started to escape, turning them to crisp, then to black mist. The suits fell apart and from the crumbling walls, Willow stepped out, looking not only displeased but fed up, as well.

"Mother!" Weiss, the two teams and the adults joined up with her.

"I'm sorry." Willow panted. "I was still resting. They tore through half the estate, before I could go after them."

"Well, you just took care o' the biggest threat, so far." Qrow said. "If this is all we're up against, it won't be a problem." Just then, they saw what they were really in for, as the night sky was filled with terrors on wings.

"You were saying?" Winter turned to Qrow, who was ready to eat his words.

Several streets away, Sun just shoved his shotgun into a Gigas' face and blew it to bits, making the actual Geist turn to black mist. He noticed the others were gaping at the sky and looked up to see what was coming, particularly the Sea Feilongs. "Oh, crap..." he exclaimed, surprised there was more than one of those.

And as if those were not enough, endless packs of Beowolves broke through the gates, farther out and were swarming in, running towards the center, as citizens caught in their path were fleeing inwards and every which way they could. Shuttles finally appeared and they began evacuating the city, as much as they could coordinate the rescue efforts, with communications still being offline, as Watts' virus was still affecting their systems. The curse of relying too much on the most modern of technologies and forgetting or simply disposing of simpler ones that could have been less vulnerable to such exploits. It crippled them in Vale and even though they were not using Knights or Paladins, they were still hampered by cyber warfare. Fortunately, it did not prevent their fleet from being mobilized and as the tide of Grimm came in, Atlesian airships flew to meet them head-on, along with fighter-transports, assisted by the small fleet of Mistral airships, all of which took to the skies, armed with their cannons.

"I will stay and defend my home." Willow said as the Grimm approached.

"Alone!?" Weiss asked in worry.

"I will stay!" Winter said.

"No!" Her mother replied. "You need to be with the rest."

"But, m-mom..." Weiss pleaded.

"Your friends need you more, Weiss." Willow told her. "And you need them." she added and cupped one side of her face. "I will be fine." she told her, also looking at Winter and they nodded.

...

Ironwood made it all the way down to his vault, after passing through all security hurdles, with the two soldiers accompanying him. He hastened his steps and was surprised to see no signs of intrusion, physical or through cyberspace, but noticed a steadily intensifying tremor, even as they rode the restricted elevator down, that was far stronger, now, as he stopped in the middle of corridor, a mere dozen meters away from the chamber.

"What is that?" he wondered, out loud, then heard the painful cries of the two men behind him. He turned to see them falling on their knees, then forward, with a deep cut running across their back and he looked in shock as their last breath escaped them. But, as he lifted his gaze, he saw no one else there with him. With his cybernetic hand, as it was the only thing that could handle his weapon's recoil, he whipped out his pistol and aimed in front of himself, knowing someone had to be there. "I know you're here." he nearly snarled, as he just watched two more of his men die before him. He felt something strike his hand, knocking his weapon from his grip, then whatever it was hit him in the shoulder to no effect, other than making him stagger back, gritting his teeth. Emerald mentally cursed, as she hid behind a panel, concentrating on concealing Adam with her semblance, whose sword was apparently not strong enough to cut the advanced alloy Ironwood's implants were made of.

Ironwood blindly fired a few times, hoping to hit something, at least with the ricochet. Adam held his sword in front of himself, one hand on the hilt, one at the end of the blade, to absorb a few shots. His red blade glowed, as a stray bullet, bouncing back, grazed his shoulder, from behind him, ripping his coat and drawing blood, to which he had no reaction. He sheathed his sword and did not even activate his aura to heal himself. If he had, Ironwood might have seen it, even through the illusion and he would have seen his attack. Suddenly, he felt a jolt of incredible pain, as his cybernetic leg was severed and upwards, through his robotic pelvis, so was his cybernetic arm, at the shoulder. Both in one slash. The burning feedback to his connected nerves made him cry out in pain and with only one leg, he fell on his side and on his one arm. His pupils briefly dilated from the shock, but he immediately regained enough will power to roll onto his stomach and try to push himself up. But, he felt a third strike as Adam stabbed his blade through the cybernetic half of his torso, driving it in the ground, until the hilt touched the metal of Ironwood's back, pinning him in place. Emerald stared, but had to quickly snap out of it and she ran over to pick up Ironwood's severed arm, who lifted his head to look up to see his assailants, recognizing both.

...

On the promenade and elsewhere, Sea Feilongs danced in the air, avoiding fire from the ground as well as the ships, then reared back and returned it, spewing beams of lightning from their mouths that the teams all dodged, though the ships were not as fast. The Griffons landed and swiped at everybody on the ground who got in their way. Team RWBY and ORNJ ganged up on them, to make their work faster, easier, but also safer.

Ruby and Blake propelled themselves with Weiss and Yang's help to clip their wings, when they tried to take flight, then slashed and punched away at them, cutting off and breaking either their front or hind-legs to cripple them, to then finish them with a close headshot or decapitation with a scythe, a glyph-assisted rapier strike to the head, a double-stab through the skull with twin pistol-blades or a skull-breaking, shotgun-aided upper-cut.

Jaune and Oscar got their attention. One deflected their swipes, while the other dodged out of their way, hitting their joints a few times, just to keep them busy, while Ren mounted them, slashed through their wings to ground them, before Nora came down on them, bashing their beaked heads in. Slowly they were eliminating them, but they were legion and the adults were not doing it any faster either.

Qrow and Winter circled one, avoiding its claws, then went for its wings, simultaneously cutting both off, before one slashed its belly open or the other leapt with her glyphs to cut its head off. Raven darted between another one's legs, taking its limbs, one by one and using the brief window of its painful shriek, as the pain momentarily paralyzed it, to open its guts, then, with another, to come out from under it and take one if its wing, so it would have no chance of escaping her, making for an easy finisher.

Taiyang waited until one came close and swiped at him. He jumped, twisting over its paws in the air so fast that he could kick himself off from its limb, then spin-kicked it straight in its jaw, driving its lower beak into the upper one and into its throat, silencing its cries of pain, immediately and leaving it dazed, as its eyes bulged. Taiyang had enough time to land and prepare himself as it fell forward into his uppercut that - with a sickening series of cracks - destroyed the rest of the bones in its head, and it slumped next to him, before it evaporated.

"Woah...!" Yang whispered, as she never actually saw her father in real action. The training he gave her was never on such a savage level. Even Winter stared.

"Hmph. Show off." Qrow muttered, before resuming the fight, but the sound of thunder made them all stop and look towards the Schnee Estate, where a storm was literally brewing and they could see hail and lightning battering everything that was in the air. They all knew what it was, but the fight did not stop. Weiss and Winter threw worried glances towards where their mother was unleashing her power. Raven only frowned in its direction.

...

"Where did _that_ come from?" Sun asked, as they also saw the very much unusual weather phenomenon, but continued to contend with some remaining Geists and also the threat from the air. Neptune's shots and Isaiah's cutting waves perforated and mangled the thin wings of the Sea Feilongs, forcing them to the ground, where the rest could deal with them, as they thrashed around. They saw the packs of Beowolves that made it all the way to the inner districts and thought they were about to be even more severely outnumbered, when fighters of the White Fang charged into them from the side, not exactly washing away their tide, but more than slowed it down and the teams cheered. Ghira took a moment to take pride in them all, before he charged in. He locked bare-hands with a Beowolf, lifted it, tossed it into another, then showed his own claws and pounced.

...

Yang punched another Griffon's lights out, in the air and landed. She was suddenly hearing voices and forgot to pay attention to her surroundings. Blake, Weiss and Ruby saw something was distracting her. Blake quickly came to her side and leaned closer.

"What's wrong?" she asked and Yang listened. She even heard her name, as someone thought of her.

"I think..." she quietly started, then her eyes widened. "Ironwood's in trouble!" she exclaimed. Qrow heard it and glanced at her as he was fending off a Griffon with Winter. "Something happened to him!"

"Whaddo'ye'mean!?" Qrow yelled back, dodging around and deflecting swipes with his sword.

"I can hear him, so he's gotta be with the relic, but he's thinking he can't do anything to stop them! They're gonna take the relic and...and there's something about some explosives and some grid!"

"Shit!" Qrow exclaimed in full panic. "Raven!" he barked at her and she turned from her tussle. "If ya really wanna do somethin' then follow me!" he shouted and took off, into the air, in crow-form. Raven stared and briefly glanced at the others, then let out an annoyed growl that he was making her use her hidden ability in front of everyone, not knowing that they all knew, anyway. She changed and flew after her brother to fly through the air that was full of Grimm being blasted by the airships, which, in turn, were being torn apart by Griffons, slammed into or being struck by the lightning beams of Sea Feilong, sustaining casualties, as many crashed all over the besieged city.

...

The tremors were dangerously strong in the vault as Emerald approached the panel with Ironwood's arm and placed the hand on the scanner. The clamps locked it in place and the data-spike inside his palm plugged in. Seconds later, the vault opened and with the exception of the lasers, all other security measures were temporarily disabled. Through all the shaking, Emerald grabbed Ironwood's leg and used it to slip through the laser-grid, while crouching, as it only disabled the lasers in a field around it.

The entire room violently started to shake and the wall to which Emerald attached the transmitter began to crack and split, then crumbled away as it was cut into pieces by swirling lasers and the loud noise of the spinning drill-head filled the place. The man-made monstrosity burst in, crashing through part of the chamber, as it dug its ways through the side of it, across from its point of entry, making enough space to park, sideways. The door on it lowered, vertically downwards, like a draw-bridge with small steps, right across from the secured room, where Emerald gaped at it. Adam had no reaction, at all, as he stood between them and Ironwood.

Watts slowly and casually walked out of the sub, hands behind his back, as he glanced around, noting the tight space and barely acknowledged an utterly helpless Ironwood, who was breathing heavily, through gritted teeth, as he glared up at him. "Hmm…a tad cold down here." he commented and looked at Emerald, who was just standing in front of the pedestal the covered container was on. "Oh, do go on!" he told her to continue. Emerald held the arm horizontally to have a wider space free of lasers to pull the cage through, thinking, with some annoyance, how precarious it still was, as Mercury and Hazel came out to observe the scene, with Tyrian crouching in the door, quietly chuckling. Watts' anticipation, as Emerald pulled their objective free, was punctuated by flying sparks from the electrical grid they tore through, but the chamber had its own power-source, still. He did not expect anything less from the General and he smiled at him.

"N-no…!" Ironwood struggled, but could not move. At the level high above them, Qrow and Raven ran past several slain soldiers and made it to the restricted elevator, the door of which the former forced open with his sword, long enough for Raven to fly through and he followed after her, diving down the dark shaft that was dimly lit be emergency lights.

"Oh, don't threat, General." Watts told him, with mock pity. "The defense measu'ehz you had emplaced _will be_ working as you have intended them." he assured him. "Af'teh we have made ou'eh exit." he added with a sinister smile. "But, just in case…" he pulled a device from his coat. "I prepared this along the way, for the occasion." he hooked it up to Ironwood's arm and plugged it into a small tablet. Its screen lit up and he smiled at the schematics and nodes which he could individually control. His fingers gingerly tapped away, as Emerald slowly slipped back out of the chamber. Watts appeared to be permanently disabling parts of the sensor grid that was linked to the explosive charges, but only the ones north of them. "Done!" he exclaimed, tapping one last time and the laser grid Emerald just carefully came through shut off. Emerald blinked in surprise, then growled at him, as he could have done that sooner. Watts merely smirked and extended a hand for her to hand the relic over and she almost threw it at him.

"Splendid!" he commented, as he took it. "Now, shall we-…" A loud thud came from the elevator as if something had landed on top of it and seconds later, the emergency escape hatch was carved up and stomped inside. They looked on, wondering who it was that could have made it down so fast and were more than a little surprised when Raven Branwen dropped down, followed by her brother. Raven stared them down, while Qrow spotted Ironwood, shocked at the state he was in.

"James!" he exclaimed, in worry, thinking he was not even alive, anymore.

"If they can get Ironwood to that te'hminal, he can still prevent the detonation. Stop them!" Watts told the others, somewhat irked by their interference and went to board the sub, as Qrow ran to Ironwood's side, sword drawn, along with Raven, who wanted to get to Watts, but was blocked as Adam and Emerald were joined by Mercury, Hazel and a cackling Tyrian, together taking up the whole width of the corridor.

"Q-Qrow…" Ironwood could turn his head to look up at him as he knelt on his right side. Qrow quickly put his own sword away and gripped the one in Ironwood with his right hand, then pulled it out, as Raven guarded them. With his left arm, he reached around and under Ironwood's good shoulder to pull him up as much as he could, while holding Adam's sword in his right hand. The drill-sub roared to life, again and tunneled onwards, toward the north, with the displacement of the gravel and the lasers aimed towards the back immediately collapsing and sealing the way behind it. Qrow gritted his teeth in frustration as the relic was already lost them, but knew they could not lose an ally and a friend, too. He also knew that even the two of them did not stand a chance against all five of them, especially with Emerald there to screw with their heads. The only way they could have a window for escape, was for him to take out the one member who posed the biggest threat to them, above all others.

"Raven…" he muttered, keeping his eyes on the enemy and even though it was decades ago they were a team, they knew each other's mind, even more so when it came to battle. Raven kept her eyes fixed on them, as well and did not need to respond for her brother to know she was ready. Even though they were the enemy, Qrow did not like what he was about to do, one bit. In one motion, he pulled Ironwood up and with his right hand traveling from inward to outwards, he threw Adam's sword, like a hidden-dagger, straight at Emerald, the same time Raven slashed with her sword, at the ceiling above them, creating a shockwave, not only to keep them back, but to cause some debris to fall, then with another slash opened a portal in front of them that obscured their enemy's view, in addition to the cloud of dust from the falling debris. It was also the fastest way out for them, as they did not have to waste precious seconds turning around with Ironwood, to go backwards, as they would have had to, if she had opened the portal behind them. Raven grabbed Ironwood by the arm to help her brother haul him through the portal even faster, while behind the falling debris, in what happened under a mere second, Emerald stared at the tip of the blade that stopped an inch from her throat. She could not even blink or swallow as she processed what happened and looked to see Adam had grabbed his sword by its hilt in mid-air, before it could kill her. He wordlessly took it and sheathed it, then dashed through the debris with Mercury and Tyrian. A still stunned Emerald felt a large arm wrap around her shoulder as Hazel leaned over her.

"Let's go!" he picked her up and ran through the debris, while shielding her from it, into the portal, followed by a silhouette, a fraction of second before the portal closed.

In his drill-sub, Watts sat at the helm, with the unveiled relic, at his feet, inside the container. He noticed something was amiss and glanced around as if looking for something that was no longer there, raising a brow and frowning as he had a suspicion about it.

…

Taiyang was jumping off of Winter's glyphs in front of a Griffon, avoiding its swipes and delivering some lighter kicks and punches to its head, to soften it up and daze it, before he took a moment to collect some extra strength. Another glyph launched him and he elbowed the Griffon, hard, from the side, making a dent that deformed its head, as one of its eye burst and its beaks were unnaturally pursed.

"Ugh…" Winter winced at the sight of it, before she launched herself up with a glyph to take its head, not wanting to look at it and landed behind its evaporating body. A few packs of Beowolves have ventured near them, posing little threat, except for a few larger alphas. Everybody had been keeping up their end of the fight in the same fashion as before, greatly thinning the herd of Griffons and Sea Feilongs. The thunder storm, over the Schnee Estate, was still raging, as everyone took a moment to catch their breath, as they had been fighting nonstop. Taiyang heard something familiar and looked back to see a portal had opened behind him. The others turned from their fight as Raven and Qrow came through, dragging a severely injured Ironwood.

"General!" Winter exclaimed.

"Take 'im and get back!" Qrow told Taiyang and Raven quickly helped him put Ironwood's arm around his neck, as Winter ran to help. Qrow and Raven turned back to where they came from as they took Ironwood away, but they carried him just a few paces, before they turned back to see the portal close and were alarmed to find who else came through. Yang narrowed her eyes at Mercury, but her expression turned to fear, for both her and Blake, when they saw Adam. Oscar had the same expression as them, when he saw Hazel. Ruby glared at Emerald, but then saw Tyrian and what he had become. Qrow glared at the mad man as his cackling slowly became louder the more their fear and anger showed on their faces, ceaselessly echoing in the night, as their fortunes just took a turn for the worst.


	15. Chapter 15

Ch. 15 – Cataclysm

" _Adam_? What are you _doing_!?" Blake asked, as it appeared Adam had completely lost his ways, but he did not even react to her question or to her person, even though he could hear and see it was her.

"Oh, I don't think he's gonna talk much, Kitty Cat" Mercury told her, using Roman's nickname for her.

There was no time for a stare-down or a strategy as the remaining Beowolf Alphas and grunts ran towards them, attacking from the back and both sides. Winter was occupied, helping Ironwood with Taiyang, but Weiss spun around and made a diagonal slash as the Beowolves were near, creating a wall of ice on their side that froze them, but still left their right flank and back open to the rest of them.

The Seer floated into view for all, from behind Hazel, who was surprised by its presence, but it quickly darted from the field, towards the nearest building, moving too fast for anyone to shoot it. Qrow and Raven did not waste time, either and threw themselves at Tyrian and Adam, respectively, who were not distracted by the creature and locked themselves into battle with them.

Emerald pulled herself together, after nearly being killed and immediately started concentrating on an illusion, but from the corner her of eyes, she saw Jaune was charging from the side. Hazel stood in his way, to defend her, but Ruby already finished loading her chamber with lightning dust and kept shooting Nora with it, making her stagger from it, as she ran towards Hazel, from a different angle. The latter gritted his teeth and readied himself, remembering well just how strong the redheaded girl could get. Nora slammed into him, holding her hammer in front of herself and though Hazel grabbed onto its haft with both hands, trying to stop her, Nora took him off his feet and off for ride as she ran along with him, taking him off the field. Emerald still had time to use her semblance on Jaune as she brought her pistols out to shoot at him, which he blocked with his shield, not even caring he could not see her, anymore. But with a shield held in front of him, that was actually nothing unusual and he soon saw her, again, when she jumped back to avoid Ruby's scythe swipe that made her lose focus. Jaune could see Ruby was furious and so could Emerald as Ruby relentlessly slashed at her, but not with her usual flare, spinning her scythe and switching hands, but just plain attacks that had more anger behind them than speed or force.

"You killed her!" Ruby cried. "You made Pyrrha do it…but you killed Penny!" she yelled, no longer even asking for her reasons, for whys, as she did at Haven. Emerald could only parry her with the blades on her pistols, having no room to attack back and gritted her teeth, as it started to annoy her and so did Ruby's crying. Suddenly she vanished from in front of Ruby's eyes and the latter needed a second to realize she was already tricking her, but it was too late. Or it would have been, if a glyph did not appear under Ruby, launching her backwards and knocking Emerald on her back in the process, who attempted to strike Ruby from behind, but was hit by her and was now lying on the ground, in plain sight. She mentally cursed, picking herself up and sneered at them, as she saw Weiss was holding Ruby, steadying her, after she caught her.

"You can't let her get to you, Ruby!" Weiss pleaded with her, in a tone that showed she was not lecturing her and instead knew she was hurting. " **I** will take her!" she declared, standing, but was surprised when Mercury was coming down on her with a drop-kick, from the side that was blocked by Jaune. Mercury kicked of his shield and landed next to Emerald.

"Oh, ho! That felt familiar." he smugly commented, trying to get a rise out of Jaune, as he knew he would understand he was referring to Pyrrha and their practice match.

"Thank you, Jaune." Weiss quietly said. "But, you can't fight them, either." she told him and Jaune looked at her in surprise. "Help the others with the Grimm." she told him as Ren, Blake and Oscar were tangling with the Beowolves. Winter and Taiyang were also keeping them away from the General, who was lying against a metal fence, with a rifle placed in his hand that belonged to a soldier. He barely had enough strength, physical or mental, to even hold it.

"You can't take them on by yourself." Jaune stated.

"She's not gonna." Yang walked up, standing next to her. Jaune knew she was right, as he could not let either them mess with his head. Not with illusions and not with Pyrrha. Or worst of all, illusions of her. Seeing her, even if he knew it was not really her, would have broken him. He sighed and nodded to Yang and Weiss, then ran back towards the others, passing Ruby. The latter looked at her sister. "We got this, Sis!" she threw a glance at her from the corner of her eyes. Ruby looked at Weiss, with worry, who nodded to her that everything would be fine and she followed Jaune, joining the others. Yang and Weiss took a stance, as did Emerald and Mercury. But, before anyone of them could move, the entire capital shook and everyone stopped. Farther down the promenade, Nora and Hazel circled each other. The latter looked annoyed and tired, while the former was baring her teeth in a vicious grin and laughing, a little drunk on power. It disappeared when they both felt the quakes. It shook, once more, but it did not stop. Tremors could be felt across the city that were intensifying as fleeing citizens were climbing aboard the evac-shuttles, either on street-level or on rooftops, while soldier shot at any Grimm that set their eyes on them. They, too, stopped in the tracks.

"N-no-o-o…!" Ironwood moaned and Taiyang knelt next to him as Winter stood guard while listening.

"General, what's happening?" Taiyang asked. In another part of the city, the other teams, Ghira and the White Fang were also wondering that.

"I swear, if it's _another_ _ **giant**_ **dragon** …!" Sun exclaimed and to prove his worries wrong, something far worse came instead.

The ground beneath the facility opened, creating a chasm, in which the building fell and it began expanding, in different directions, including the academy and beyond, reaching the promenade. The streets themselves began falling, exposing the sewers as water spilled from broken pipelines and buildings collapsed like houses of cards. The fighting teams were literally split up, as the ground did beneath them. Emerald and Mercury had to run and jumped to more stable area with Weiss and Yang, while the adults did the same thing. Qrow changed forms and flew to the roof of a nearby building that seemed stable enough. Raven knew what he need her to do and went to Ironwood's side to portal him over with Winter, after which they both returned to the battlefield that was falling apart.

Everyone could already see the glowing magma deep at the bottom. And to everyone's shock, they also saw the destroyed elevator shaft that went down to the Vault of Creation, the exposed snowy anti-chamber of which they could see, as the first door that Ozpin had the key for came loose from the side of the mountain and crumbled into the magma.

" _No!"_ Ozpin said in alarm, inside Oscar's head.

Nora slipped off a crumbling part of the road and nearly fell into the chasm. She was holding onto the piece of asphalted ground, with one hand, unable to pull herself up and she had no grenades to propel herself with. Hazel walked to the edge, looking almost apathetically down at her scared face. He bent down and grabbed her forearm, then with effort, yanked her up and with the same motion, threw her over a large distance, towards some trees, which she flew over, screaming in panic. After that, he reached inside his satchel, pulled out sharp crystals of gravity and lightning dust, stabbing them into his body. Now that the one who could turn the element of lightning against him was out of the picture, he could get back to the fight. He grew in size and power. And thanks to the gravity dust, with a single bound, he launched himself, back towards the others.

…

The promenade broke up into platforms, where the fighters ended up, separated from one another. Yang and Mercury cornered each other on one. Weiss and Emerald on another. The others students and adults, who were left on the mostly still intact part of the road, looked up as Hazel landed between them, causing a quake of his own and the shockwave from it scattered everyone. Tyrian ended up near Ruby and his laughs suddenly turned to angry growls as he circled her, likely still remembering how she cut off his tail. He pounced. Ruby blocked, but he still kicked her over a wide gap in the road and Ruby had to fire off a lightning-dust round, using the recoil to clear the gap and make it across, while also retaliating as she aimed it at Tyrian. He planted his hands and feet, blocked the shot with his tail, channeling the lightning through his insulated shell and into the ground, remaining unaffected. Ruby gasped in worry as Tyrian chuckled. He jumped after her, landing on the same platform, as he singled her out.

Qrow and Taiyang both attempted to go after them, but Hazel bulldozed them, slamming them back. Taiyang tumbled and rolled to his feet, while Qrow stabbed his sword in the pavement, carving it up to stop himself, as Hazel's already large enough and now enhanced physique towered over them. Ren got alarmed as Hazel being back could have only meant that Nora was defeated.

"No...!" he whispered, with a shake of his head, "Nora!" he bolted towards where Hazel came from.

"Ren!" Jaune called after him, as he, Oscar and Blake fended off Beowolves, but Ren did not hear. Or more likely, he was more worried about Nora. Hazel watched him run off, with a passive face. He could have told him she was alive, but him leaving meant less people got in his way. And as he thought of that, still looking at Ren, he got a boot in the neck from Taiyang, from a spin-kick that almost bounced off of him, with no effect. Taiyang landed, jumping back from it and gaped at Hazel, who turned his attention back to him and to an equally shocked Qrow.

"Not good." Qrow muttered and prepared to have a repeat of the fight they had at Haven, only worse, since the lightning dust not only boosted Hazel's already brute strength, it compensated for his lack of speed and coupled with the gravity dust, he was even more lighter on his feet, able to close even longer distances far faster than anyone facing him would have liked. He was a locomotive with fists and feet that did not have to care for the laws of physics.

Raven engaged Adam, again, on another platform, mindful of some Beowolves that crossed over and she periodically had to slash at them, while parrying Adam's disturbingly calm, almost methodical attacks, as he did not appear to be short of breath, unlike her. Blake panted as she delivered the finishing stab to the back of an alpha's neck, jumping off from its evaporating body and noticed Raven was having a hard time. She looked at Jaune and Oscar.

"We got this!" Jaune told her, as him and Oscar dealt with the Beowolf grunts, keeping an eye on the few remaining alphas. Blake arrived in time to parry a vertical slash from Adam, using both her blades to have enough strength, as it came down on Raven, who turned with a 180 degree slash to her back, cutting two lunging Beowolves in half. She heard the clash of blades and turned back to see her daughter's partner getting slashed in half, then vanish, as the real one kicked Adam in the side, making him tumble, once, before he rolled to his feet.

"I _don't_ need your help!" Raven's pride spoke, as Blake stood with her.

"I'm not doing it for you." Blake softly spoke, even as she glared at Adam and Raven raised a brow at her tone, but guessed that she was doing it for her daughter and what happened between the three of them at Beacon, as she was aware of it.

"Why, Adam?" Blake asked. "Don't you even care about the Faunus, anymore!? Is that why you're helping _Salem_!? You want to destroy _everything_ , now!?" she tried to know his reasons, but quickly began to suspect there were none, as Adam remained entirely unresponsive to her words. The red markings on him continued to glow.

"Looks to me like he can't really care about anything, even if he wanted to." Raven observed and readied herself, along with Blake, as Adam resumed combat.

On the roof where Ironwood was doing his best to aim and shoot, Winter dashed around him, using her glyphs to protect him and altered them to propel herself, as well, to fend off a flock of vulture-like Griffons that saw Ironwood would be easy prey, while higher above them, the battle between more Grimm and the fleet still lit up the sky. Ironwood would have been a goner if it was not for Winter and her efforts. She had to shield both of them from the lightning beam of a Sea Feilong, then felt the roof shake as the Griffons could close in and land. Winter gritted her teeth and threw herself at one, while Ironwood tried to blind the other with his shots, long enough for Winter to finish on her end and get back to help him.

...

The melee between Yang and Mercury was not like the one in Haven, but more like their tournament match, except Mercury was giving it his all, which to his surprise was not enough, anymore, as they seemed to be evenly matched. One blocked and countered just as much and as well as the other. However, Yang remained calm, while Mercury started to get annoyed with her, which Yang could see and decided to exploit, though she did not smile.

"No so tough without Emerald, are ya?" she messed with him, remaining serious, as well.

"Shut up." Mercury muttered and flipped towards her with downward kicks, as Yang dodged backwards.

Weiss knew she could not let Emerald get in her head or use her pistols. The revolver of her rapier rotated to a Fire-Dust vial and she used an array of smaller, orange-red glyphs to pelt her with fire balls, keeping her on the move, while shielding herself from her eventual round of shots, with a white Glyph. A moment Emerald used to affect her with her semblance as the rain of fire momentarily abated. Weiss saw her vanish and immediately slashed in a 180 degree arc, in front of her, creating a wall of ice to hide behind, as she began to summon. The move which did not work against Vernal, she could actually pull off and human-sized Arma Gigas summer-salted from behind the wall, with its large sword, surprising Emerald, who was just about to get around the wall of ice. It slashed at her and Emerald was annoyed to find her illusions did not work on the summoned knight, as Weiss controlled it from cover, slashing away at her and seeing through its eyes.

Ruby spun her scythes, defending against Tyrian's erratic assault much better than she did, when they first fought. She did not have time to counter-attack much, but she was holding him off, occasionally using her semblance and carefully aimed shots to get around him and blindside him, but his tail still got in the way, which almost acted on its own to parry her attacks. Qrow knew he would have made a fragile target for Hazel, if he had changed forms to get to Ruby, as he could have easily snatched him from the air with the power of gravity dust coursing through him. And he could not leave Taiyang to fight him alone, either. Cutting him did little to nothing against his rapidly recharging aura. They were getting tossed around, as keeping their distance did not seem to work for long, either. Taiyang tried using Hazel's momentum against him, dodging and even kicking him to push him further away, when he overshot him, but the latter stopped himself and quickly turned back to them, even going as far as grabbing a Beowolf that came close and threw it at them.

Farthest away from the platforms, separated from that fight, Jaune and Oscar were having their own, which was a good thing, considering how suddenly Hazel's behavior could change around Ozpin or his vessel. Both were doing well, in their own particular fighting style. Jaune deflected a grunt's claws and sliced its arm off, followed by its head. Or he made a riposte, thrusting, after a well-timed parry knocked his opponent off balance, to stab it in the gut. Oscar jumped and rolled around them, hitting them in the joints and jaw to reduced their movements and stun them, before delivering a harder thrust to the chest or head that broke through their ribcage or skull, ending their existence.

" _I know you like this cane...but...it can't really hit them hard enough!"_ Oscar was mentally telling Ozpin, as he was panting. _"I think I'm…going to need a sword."_ he said as he kept attacking. 

" _Eventually."_ Ozpin replied.

The Seer floated from behind a corner as they cleared all the grunts and only a single alpha remained. Through it, Salem watched, gazing into her Seer's orb and saw the boy that was Ozpin's next incarnation. She narrowed her eyes, baring her teeth and stood. Closing her eyes, she concentrated as she put her hands on the Seer's orb. Jaune and Oscar were about to engage the last alpha, when it stopped and held his clawed hand to its head, shaking it, as if it was hurting. It stopped jerking around and raised its head to look at them, not with the usual eyes of a Grimm, but a pair that suddenly had black pupils. The alpha straightened up and stood, almost humanly, on its hind-legs.

"What the...?" Jaune whispered in shock.

 _"It's her."_ Oscar heard Ozpin. _"Be careful!"_

"I-It's Salem!" Oscar told Jaune and the Alpha Beowolf directly under Salem's control began fighting much more like a human than the beast it was moments ago. It ran at them, leapt and came down with a slam attack that knocked a blocking Jaune off his feet, then twisted out of the way of Oscar's strong attack, jumping over him with a turn to land behind him and slashes him across the back, but fortunately his aura took the damage and he was merely pushed back. He stumbled towards Jaune, grabbed his extended hand to pull him to his feet and Jaune, in turn, pulled him behind him to block the alpha's next swipe, deflecting one more, before Oscar spun above it and hit it across the face, landed behind it to immediately make its legs buckle by hitting its joints from behind it. The alpha grabbed Jaune's shield and sword, as it fell forward, to stop his attack, hopped and kicked Oscar away with its hind-legs, then took Jaune off the ground and threw him into Oscar and they both sprawled out on the ground. Blake saw what was going on.

"I have to help them." she told Raven, knowing she could hold off Adam, as they eliminated enough Beowolves to take the pressure off of her. She fired one of her blades as a grappling hook, catching the top of a lamppost and swung herself over, kicking the unusual alpha back as it was charging at the boys, then stood in front of them. She noticed its eyes.

"What is this thing?" she asked, with some due fear.

"Salem is controlling it, directly." Oscar relayed Ozpin's words.

With Blake and her semblance, they were able to fight it more effectively. She made its attacks hit her shadow-clones, while Oscar made it stagger into Jaune's slices. But, as an alpha, its body was stronger, able to withstand more attacks. Salem felt that it was losing, though, so she did something else to help it fight. The Seer darted across the field and attached itself to the back of the alpha's head, wrapping two of its tentacles around its chest, like an x-shaped harness. The rest of its appendages were free to attack and given that just one could easily drag someone of Lionheart's size and weight, together they posed more of a threat than the students expected. The Seer's orb also acted as additional eye, able to see behind it in a much wider field of view.

...

Emerald had enough of being chased around by the Arma Gigas that was blocking her shots and was using Weiss' glyphs to launch itself at her. On one such occasion Emerald slid under it and made a dash to where Weiss was hiding, who kept putting black glyphs in her way to make her stop, but had to bring up a white one to shield herself when Emerald finally got around the wall of ice and started shooting, suppressing her, until she closed in and could attack her with her blades. Weiss launched herself in the direction of her summon, landing behind it and it blocked Emerald's shots long enough for to her to prepare, twirl around and strike the ground to release a wave of ice, snap-freezing half the platform they were on, including Emerald's legs, who kept shooting at and past the Arma Gigas, until she grazed Weiss' shoulder and midriff, as her aura was depleted from the constant use of her semblance. She lost focus and her summon disappeared from Emerald's shots, but with one last effort she made a black glyph around her, binding her, that stopped her from shooting. Emerald struggled, but then Weiss saw she was suddenly not trapped in ice or in her glyph, anymore. She scrutinizingly looked at the scene, doubting her eyes and she tightened her hold, making Emerald flicker back into view from the pain of the glyph constricting around her.

"Nice try!" Weiss told her as she kept her rapier pointed at her, slowly regaining her aura, which she had to focus on her semblance to keep Emerald trapped, rather than on healing herself.

Emerald struggled in her hold, then saw an opportunity, on another platform, where Ruby was still keeping herself away from Tyrian. She concentrated on her, instead and Tyrian suddenly vanished from in front of Ruby, who dropped her guard in confusion and even though her aura was still up, there was not much left and it was quickly stripped away by Tyrian's first two slash. The third cut came from his tail, slashing ruby across her abdomen, who cried out in pain, before stumbling and collapsing on the ground, immediately, as Tyrian laughed over her.

"Ruby!" Weiss exclaimed in sheer fright, remembering what they have told her about Qrow's ordeal, after he was poisoned. She was too focused on an imperiled Ruby that she did not even notice Emerald was affecting her perception and that she had already freed herself by breaking the ice on her feet with the butt of her pistols. The only thing Weiss felt, besides the fear for Ruby's life, was a sharp pain, in her spine, as Emerald drove her blade in her. She suddenly lost all feeling in her legs, but she looked at Ruby, again and her fear was coupled with anger and she head-butted Emerald, with the back of her head, not breaking her nose, but making it bleed, before she fell to the ground, clutching the wound she gave her. Emerald touched the spot, feeling the blood and gritted her teeth at Weiss. Tyrian saw the ground had started to crumble under him and Ruby and he made his escape, hopping back towards the others. Emerald had no more time to waste on Weiss, either and she bolted, too, seeing an evac-shuttle land close to them that likely arrived for some straggling civilians in the nearby buildings and she ran towards it, while hiding herself from everyone else's vision.

"Ruby…" Weiss cried, desperately reaching towards her, as she could barely drag herself. "No…"

"Ruby!" Yang turned, after hearing Weiss' first cry. Though worried for her sister, it was a mistake, as she heard a shot and was hit in the side of the face, as she looked, by one of Mercury's blasts from his gun-boots and it was strong enough to break her remaining aura, sending her rolling on the ground. Mercury heavily panted and spat, having sustained some serious injuries from Yang's semblance dishing whatever damage he dealt to her back at him, which also depleted her aura. He had bruises all over him, though the only ones visible were the ones on his face. He saw Tyrian and Emerald make a run for it and so did he, as a laughing Tyrian passed him, going back towards the fight.

"Creep…" he muttered as he ran on, after him.

"Ruby!" Taiyang exclaimed in panic, when he saw what happened.

"Hh, kid!" Qrow reacted the same way, letting out a deep breath he was running out of.

Hazel rammed into them, grabbing both by their necks and slammed them against a wall, keeping them in place and they had no chance of breaking his hold.

"D-dh…Ruby!" Taiyang tried to yell, with Hazel's large hand choking him.

"N-no…H-eh! H-eh!" Qrow kept slamming his fists on Hazel's forearms to no avail.

"I am sorry." Hazel told them. "If she didn't have silver eyes, she could live. But, she's a threat to Her!" he referred to Salem. He spared Nora, but could not allow Ruby to live.

Jaune, Oscar and Blake were narrowly avoiding the tentacles as they tried to stab or grab them, preventing them from getting close enough to the Beowolf, which was still fighting just as agilely as before and had them on the ropes. Oscar flipped to avoid another attack and spotted Ruby and Weiss, after hearing the latter's cry.

"No!" he and Ozpin said at the same time, but it was a momentary distraction they paid for, when a tentacle grabbed Oscar by the throat, lifting him up and quickly started to choke the life out him. Only three of its tentacles remained free, as Jaune and Blake attacked at the same time. Jaune bashed one away with his shield, but another one grabbed his sword-arm by the wrist as he raised it for an attack and the alpha grabbed him by the throat with its left-hand. Blake let one hit her clone, but the one remaining tentacle grabbed her by the throat as well. The one remaining free tentacle slapped her weapons from her hand. Raven saw the three of them were about to be killed and saw Tyrian running towards her to help Adam. She avoided the latter's slash by changing forms and flew towards the children. Turning back, she let the momentum carry her forward and severed all of the tentacles that were holding the three of them, plus the arm of the alpha, then landed past them. The Seer emitted a shrill sound that was a howl of pain and the students stood, looking at a heavily panting Raven.

"Finish it!" she told them and saw Adam was quickly closing in with Tyrian. They locked swords, again and Raven gritted her teeth in frustration as Adam did not seem to be affected by fatigue, at all. Jaune bashed his sword against his shield.

"Hey!" he yelled, catching Tyrian's attention, as he remembered he took some sort of twisted interest in him in the abandoned village of Oniyuri.

"Ooh?" Tyrian stopped in his tracks and tilted his, then laughingly charged at him, while Blake, tired as she was, as they all were, could hold her own against the one-armed alpha that had only one tentacle left to assist it in battle and only one arm.

Oscar and Ozpin looked on in panic, wondering why no one was going to help Ruby and Weiss, then saw how everyone was occupied, particularly Qrow and Taiyang.

On the roof, Winter was running short on strength, facing several more Griffons and only a few remaining Sea Feilongs. She also saw what happened to Weiss and Ruby, fearing for them, but she cursed the situation as she could not leave and had to prepare as the Grimm charged at her. To her shock, some of them were struck by lightning, while the rest backed off and she looked to see her mother floating in the air, keeping herself aloft with strong winds she summoned. Willow landed on the roof and walked up to her and Ironwood.

"Your sister and her friends need you!" she told her. "I'll keep James safe. Now, go!" She did not want any arguments and Winter gave her none, as she used her glyphs to make it down to the promenade.

Weiss was crying, holding her wound with one hand, while her right was clutching at the pavement, towards Ruby, who was writhing in pain, sweating as she was running a fever already, unable to move from the debilitating poison quickly spreading through her body. The platform, under her, was giving away and she would soon fall into the pit, if she did not move.

"No…please…Ruby…You can't…" Weiss whimpered. "I have to…" she kept saying and the piece of road slanted, causing Ruby slide down some. One more tremor or another dip of the edge and she would fall. "No…no…!" Weiss was far beyond panicked at that point when another tremor came, the piece of road tilted and Ruby started to slide off. "NOOO!" Weiss slammed her fist on the pavement with a scream, as a single thought occupied her mind. She needed Ruby to be there, right with her. And then and entirely new glyph appeared right under Ruby, the markings in its center disappearing as it became translucent, almost like the surface of water. Ruby fell in and another _portal-glyph_ appeared next to Weiss. It vanished and as she opened her tear-filled eyes, they widened as she saw Ruby lying right next to her. Yang got up, at that moment, witnessing the whole thing and stared in awe, before she ran to them.

"Hazel!" The latter turned at the sound of his name to see Ozpin's reincarnation called to him. His anger started rising at the sight of him as he was only a short distance away and it seemed he was slowly turning his attention to him, but still would not let go of Qrow and Taiyang, reminding himself he could not let them save a silver-eyed warrior. He let his rage get in the way, once and he knew he could not fail, again. Worst case scenario was, he let Ozpin live, so a silver-eyed warrior could die, at least, pleasing Salem. But, if he went after him and failed to kill him, then both had a good chance they would live. He gritted his teeth as he glared at Oscar, tightening his grip on Qrow and Taiyang, but was suddenly bitten in the neck by a pure white Beowolf that tore open his neck, as Winter stood on the roof above them controlling her summon. Hazel staggered back as he already felt the effect of blood-loss as it rushed out and he immediately let go of his captives to put a hand to the wound, slamming the Beowolf back and to the ground with is other hand. Qrow switched forms and immediately flew towards Ruby as Taiyang sprinted after him.

"Hazel!" Emerald's voice called him and he saw her in front of him, pointing behind him, up to the roof of a building. "Get to the shuttle!" Her illusion of herself told him and turned to see her flying in with a hijacked evac-shuttle, turning its side towards them as its door was opened. The Seer detached from the alpha and darted towards the shuttle. Hazel ran, grabbing Adam and a surprised Mercury, then jumped all the way to the roof. Tyrian made a run for it, too, quickly catching up and they jumped aboard the shuttle that immediately started off.

Willow watched them making their escape and glared. She summoned lightning and the bolt passed through the shuttle as it struck, causing it to start falling and it looked like it was going to slowly crash before it could make it out of the city, but to her surprise, three Griffons flew to support it, two from either side and one from below, keeping it airborne as the Seer inside was calling on their help. Willow scowled as she could not strike them, again, from so far away and she mentally cursed, before turning her attention back to the Griffons that were still circling high above them. No Sea Feilongs remained that were close enough, fortunately.

Almost everyone went to Weiss and Ruby. Qrow, Taiyang and Yang knelt at Ruby's side, while Winter and Blake knelt at Weiss'. Jaune, Oscar and Raven were fending off the remaining Griffons that attacked them along the way and more were circling above, taking notice of the two easy prey.

"Weiss, you're bleeding!" Winter stated, with worry.

"Forget about me…" she cried, not caring about her injuries. "H-Help her…" she reach for Ruby. "Pleh-ease!" she sobbed, in pain. "Do something…" she begged them.

Winter knelt between them to inspect Ruby. "This isn't like counteracting a tranquilizing serum." she spoke from her own recent experience. "Without knowing the exact properties of the venom, it's impossible to create an antidote, especially without any equipment." she said and suddenly stood, in surprise, reacting to a swooping Griffon she stopped with a glyph. Qrow whipped around to stand and shot another one's head clean-off with Harbinger's shotgun, its body dissolving immediately.

"It's worse than that." Qrow gritted his teeth as he knelt back down. "I barely pulled through, after that guy got me. And whatever he got in 'er is workin' a lost faster than it did with me. Whoever gave 'im his tail back, did a lot more than that." Qrow could see Tyrian's venom was more potent. "Her aura isn't strong enough to fight it. And yer friend, Jaune, got his hands-...!" A dead Griffon, with its belly sliced open from under it, hit the ground and slid to a stop, evaporating near them. "Full." Qrow muttered and they looked up to see Jaune sheathing his sword as he rushed to them.

"Not anymore." Jaune said and knelt between Ruby and Weiss and started healing both.

"It'll take time for the venom to leave her system, even with her aura healing her." Winter said.

"Ye'r gonna have t' keep this up, kid." Qrow told Jaune.

"I know." Jaune nodded, determined. "Just watch my back." he told them.

"Heh. You got it!" Qrow appreciatively nodded and stood, scythe out. Winter stood a few paces away, facing any threat that came near.

"Thank you!" Taiyang put a hand on his shoulder, as Jaune already began healing them. "We'll keep you safe." he told him and stood, forming a triangle with Qrow and Winter, around them.

Jaune raised his head to look at Blake and Yang, who were still kneeling besides Weiss and Ruby.

"Guys." They looked at him. "I got this." he calmly told them. After a long second, they both nodded, entrusting them to him and they stood to cover them from all sides. Jaune kept up his efforts.

"Jaune..." he turned to Weiss. "I...I'm okay..." She was clearly not. "Please, just...save her." She looked at Ruby and reached out to place a hand on hers, as a tear rolled from her eyes.

"Don't worry. You'll both be okay." Jaune reassured her.

Willow saw everyone was protecting Weiss and Ruby, as only a few Griffons remained above her and Ironwood. Seeing the vault's anti-chamber and its faltering climate, she knew it was in danger and she had to act, whether it meant opening it and taking the relic to safety or something else.

"Hold on, James!" she put his arms around her shoulder and started hauling him off the roof, making a bridge with a row of glyphs to the ground. Raven spotted them, as they were closest to her and she flew over to open a portal to her brother, making them cross over faster, as more Beowolf grunts were drawn to them.

…

The ground under the academy was still magically holding together, literally, as everything else was crumbling around it. It was surrounded by the widening chasm and the lava slowly started rising, as the quakes never stopped. The vault that could be seen, even more, deep down, was going to be flooded by lava.

 _"Oscar, the vault's anti-chamber!"_ Ozpin was telling him. _"We must not allow it to be destroyed. The magic protecting it is the only thing that is still holding the ground together, under the academy, but it cannot withstand the lava indefinitely. We need Willow."_ Oscar listened as he fought, then stopped to address the others, yelling, so they would all be in earshot. Yang delivered the final blows, then Blake delivered the final stab to the still fighting alpha's head, cutting off Salem's vision of the battle, who calmly opened her eyes, letting her Seer float free, then smiled. They had the relic. Her followers were all on their way back and Atlas was literally falling apart.

"Everyone! Ozpin says the vault's magic is keeping the academy safe, but it won't hold, unless a maiden gives it power and stops the lava from rising!" he told them, as the portal opened, behind Qrow. Raven ran out, followed by Willow and Ironwood. She layed him down, near Weiss and Ruby, against a slab from the road that stuck out more. She looked to the side, as Oscar ran up to her and she stood. "You have to use your power on the vault to keep the academy together and stop the lava!" he told her.

"I knew I had to do something other than take the relic from it." Willow stated. "Keep them safe!" she looked at the four, as Jaune was still healing Weiss and Ruby. The former stopped bleeding and the latter was no longer tossing and turning, but was also unresponsive as Weiss held her hand. Willow noted their condition and looked at a half-conscious Ironwood, who breathed heavily as he was giving her a worried stare, before she went towards the vault, stopping at the edge of the chasm. She spread her hands, aiming downwards, towards the vault and the lava. Willow focused her power and could tell the lava had slowed in its rise to the surface, but after a minute of struggling, it was clear her efforts were not going to be enough.

Behind her, the remaining Griffons were kept away and were being slowly taken down by the others, who were heavily fatigued, but determined to keep one another safe. Everyone was relying on everyone else, as they had to combine their remaining strengths to finish off the last flock and pack that harassed them, as the rest of the Grimm, Griffons and Beowolves alike started retreating, being chased by the decimated fleet, along with the last of the Sea Feilongs that could barely fly with their injured, cut, maimed and punctured wings. Willow's knees buckled from her lack of strength and she fell on one knee, panting as she turned back towards the others.

"It's not enough!" she shouted and Oscar turned to her with worry, as did everyone, including Raven. "I'm too tired!" Willow was cursing her own weakness. "My power is not enough! I will not be able to hold it!" Raven narrowed her eyes, as her fists were shaking from the decision that was forming in her. "I am sorry!" Willow looked at her worried daughters and Oscar. "I cannot do this on my own!"

"You're _not_ alone!" They all turned to see Raven walking towards her.

"Raven?" Qrow narrowed his eyes, but they immediately widened, with everyone else's, as Raven's lit up with a red flame around them. Everyone stared in shock, except Yang, who was giving her half-a-glare, as her mother decided to reveal herself as the Spring Maiden. Willow's own suspicions about her, based on what she heard from Ozpin, were proven right, as the latter was also shocked by it. "What do we have to do?" Raven asked her.

"Are you _serious_!?" Qrow snarled at her, but Raven ignored him. She knew they were in peril and knew, even more, that Qrow was going to be furious with her, not only for hiding her identity, but what the implications of it were for the original Spring Maiden. She waited for Willow's response, who noted her brother's anger with her and she quickly understood why. If the girl aptly named Vernal was a decoy and Raven herself held the power all along, then how she received it was something Willow dreaded to hear the answer for, even though it was obvious.

"We have to get closer to the vault and focus our power on the lava to calm it." Willow said, looking at the rapidly rising molten lake, as huge chunks of the ground fell and splashed into it. "And fast." Willow added and jumped, followed by Raven as they both summoned strong air currents to make it down to the vault's anti-chamber, the glowing lights of which dimmed, as its magic was waning from holding the foundations of the academy together. White and Red energy flared around Willow and Raven as they pressed against the forces of nature with their own. The rising lava slowly stopped, this time, then started to sink back. The others were glancing around, guarding both the injured and them from any further attacks. Weiss was able to stand and could see her mother and Raven. She watched with both fear and awe as they were exerting their magic on the area. She turned back to Ruby and got on both knees beside her, taking her hand with both of hers, as her chest was pounding and her eyes wavered. Then she glanced at her sister, who was looking towards their mother, as well and turned to look with her. The lava stopped, again, despite the two maiden's continued efforts.

"It's not working, anymore!" Raven said.

"We have to get down there!" Willow said, in a grave tone, knowing full well that if their power ran out, they would fall and without any more aura to use her semblance, she could not escape. Raven did have a way out, but was still not thrilled with their chances and followed Willow, using the winds, again, to fly deeper.

"What're they doing!?" Taiyang asked in worry.

"What they have to." Oscar stated, with sadness in his voice, as Ozpin told him it could be perilous for both women.

Weiss and Winter were at the edge of what their nerves could take, again, as they watched their mother fly down with Raven. The two started, again and were barely having an effect on the lava as their power was running low. Both bared their teeth, pushing everything they had and suddenly the symbols and filigree in the anti-chamber and on the vault came back to life with a white glow. The two felt rejuvenated and their struggle was having an effect, once again. The lava began to sink further down, along with them as magic flowed from the vault through them as they channeled its power.

"They're doing it!" Blake exclaimed, as she watched with Yang, who had a stern but somewhat worried look about her. Qrow had the same expression.

The vault was sustaining itself and the academy, again, but the stopping of the lava was left to the Maidens, alone, now. They went deeper and farther away from the chamber, where a snowstorm had formed, creating a crust of ice that slowly turned into a wall and it covered the anti-chamber, shielding it from view and from further damage, as if it had a mind of its own, knowing it should remain hidden. Willow and Raven were quickly burning through the energy they were given, when the lava suddenly started to drain faster, flowing back into the chasm and a crust formed over it, as the ground sealed shut from the last of their power. The winds vanished from around them, as did their glow and they both fell into the dark abyss.

"Mother!"

"Mom!" Winter and Weiss screamed as they disappeared from view and everyone held their breath as their heart skipped a beat. Yang heard a sound and turned to see a portal opened behind them, from which her mother fell, holding Willow and they tumbled along the ground. The latter was far too exhausted to stand and could only push herself to sit, while the latter was still too proud not to try and stand, but failed, falling back on one knee. Winter rushed to her mother's side and Weiss started to, but stopped, glancing at Ruby.

"She'll be okay." Jaune told her and Weiss appreciatively nodded, before she ran over to her mother, as well, to hug her. And the three Schnee women embraced.

Raven looked up to see Yang walking to stand over her, not with a frown and not on the verge of tears, either, but with an appreciative, straight face that said she still cared that she lived. Qrow kept glaring at her, but decided he would berate her later and he mentally cussed, turning away with a scowl. Ironwood leaned back, letting his head hang backwards, as he took a deep breath and exhaled. The battle was finally over. Oscar looked at everyone, seeing the state they were in, along with the city.

"We...didn't really win..." he quietly and tiredly said.


	16. Chapter 16

Ch. 16 – Victory in Defeat

In the dark of the night, the only lights across the capital were from the fires of burning structures and crashed airships, as black smoke reached high in the sky from all of them, from between the destroyed buildings, many of which were swallowed by the chasm. Firefighters, paramedics and police, those that remained, were out in full force, their signature lights flashing across the city, as the few remaining ships circled around. Smaller vessels were using search-lights to locate grounded units and remaining civilians still in distress. The majority of the citizens from the outer districts of the capital were safely evacuated, injured as many of them were, and were sheltered in temporary camps around the city. Many, who were living in the center and near the cataclysm were lost, either to the Grimm or to the seismic event that could have destroyed the whole capital. Casualties were high, both military and civilian. Many students from the academy were injured and many were in critical condition, but miraculously none have lost their lives as they valiantly defended their school. On the intact parts of the promenade, medical tents were put up to house the injured and floodlights kept the area lit, though many find them straining on their tired eyes.

Oscar was leaning on his cane next to Qrow as the latter shielded his eyes from the light with a groan, standing in front of a tent and turned to look inside at everyone. Weiss and Yang were kneeling on either side of Ruby, holding her hands as she was petering out, with Zwei sitting above her head. Blake stood over them with a look of relief, as Taiyang was talking to a field-medic, in the corner, who was tending to injured soldiers. Ren and Nora sat, leaning against each other, at the side of the tent, tired, as the rest. Willow and Winter stood, off to the side, walking with a group of medics who were carrying Ironwood away on a stretcher to be airlifted to the nearest intact facility that could give him, at least, temporary replacements for his lost cybernetic limbs. A lone Raven observed everyone from a lamppost. Yang looked up at Weiss, who has not moved an inch, nor has she taken her tired eyes off of Ruby, since they brought her inside. She could see she was not going anywhere, so she left her alone with Ruby as she and Blake came outside.

"Where's Jaune?" Yang asked and they saw him sitting on a broken slab of concrete, with one leg pulled up as he hugged his knee, looking no worse for wear than the rest of them.

"The kid's all out" Qrow nodded towards Jaune. "He put everythin' into gettin' yer sister and the Princess healed up and still had enough fer others. Didn't wanna stop until he had to." he told them, as Jaune had been tending to the wounded until he was forced to stop, after his aura finally ran low.

"As impressive as Mr. Arc's aura is, everything is finite." Ozpin commented, as Yang glanced back and saw how Weiss was still looking at Ruby, as she held her hand, oblivious to the world. She decided, since any danger had passed and Ruby was safe and sound, to let her rest and walked over to Jaune.

"Hey, Champ!" Yang stepped next to him, smiling and Jaune blinked up at her and let out a light laugh.

"My dad called me that. Every time he saw me with my toy sword." Jaune recalled, folding his arms. "I kept swinging at everything. Mostly my imagination." he shrugged at the embarrassing memory.

"And now you're swinging a _real_ sword." Yang said, putting her cybernetic arm around him and pulled him close. "Beating _real_ monsters. And saving lives…like my sister's." she reminded him. "Thanks for that." she planted a kiss on his cheek and smirked. "I'd give you a real one, but, uh..." she trailed off and Jaune followed her brief glance towards Blake, who stood with the others, minus Oscar. Jaune smiled to himself, then shook his head.

"It was nothing." he humbly said.

"On the contrary, Mr. Arc." Ozpin stepped up to them, hands and cane held behind his back. "The limits of your semblance will only continue to expand, allowing you to save countless more lives and heal countless more wounds. It will undoubtedly reach a point where the ease you will perform these feats with will feel as though it was nothing. Nothing short of a miracle, that is." he told him, then his face saddened as he glanced at the ground. Jaune could see regret in his eyes and knew who was on his mind, as he look up at him, even before he said it. "Miz Ni-..."

"Don't." Jaune cut him off and Ozpin's eyes widened in surprise. "I know." Jaune said, looking at the ground and Ozpin sighed, briefly closing his eyes as he did, not saying anymore. Jaune already knew Pyrrha would have been proud of him.

"Where's Oscar?" Jaune asked, as Yang left them be.

"Resting. Mentally, at least. He is exhausted, but I can keep him from succumbing to the fatigue, for the time being." Ozpin explained and they looked to see Weiss was coming up to them. Yang exchanged a nod with her, as they passed each other, going back to Ruby so Weiss could talk to Jaune, without worrying that no one was at Ruby's side. Ozpin stepped away as well, going back to the others.

"Jaune..." Weiss started.

"You guys don't have to keep thanking me, every time." he quickly told her, with a smile, getting off the slab with a shake of his head, unfolding his arms and Weiss was not surprised by his attitude. She warmly smiled at him.

"Jaune, you already saved my life, once." Weiss reminded him. "Or twice…if we count that time I fell on your back." she smiled and Jaune did too. "But, this…" she started, again, suddenly serious and looked back at Ruby, inside the tent. "You have no idea how much it means to me." Weiss shook her head and hugged Jaune. "Thank you."

...

"Hh, great." Qrow sighed. "Now, that James's all squared away and the kiddo's gonna be fine, it's time t' get some rest. It's the second time, in a week, we had to save an academy. It's gettin' a little tirin'."

"The children didn't even get a chance to rest, during the day." Winter pointed out. "And even _we're_ exhausted." she admitted and could only imagine how tired the students were.

"They all fought exceptionally well." Ozpin joined them. "Even more so, given what they were up against. Professional huntsmen would be humbled by their efforts, here, tonight."

"We may have lost a relic, but every one of these students was made stronger and the kingdom owes it to them it is still standing." Willow said.

"And you." Ozpin told her.

"None of us could have done this alone. Not me. Not us. And not Atlas." Willow stated.

"James' words to the public also served as a warning." Ozpin replied. "And after tonight, Atlas will see it cannot continue to try and stand alone. But, despite _us_ losing a relic, the people will still see their capital standing strong. And owing that to men and women…rich or poor…human _and_ Faunus, the world may see a kingdom that is willing to stand more united than ever before." he said. Qrow groaned.

"It must be killin' you that ye can't actually make a speech to a bunch o' people, anymore." he said. "Not fer a couple o' more years, anyway." he added, as Ozpin gave him an unamused, subtle glare.

"Shall we retire, then?" Ozpin asked, turning back to the others.

"Hhh." Willow sighed. "The night may still be young, but _I_ am not." she said, turning towards the tent. "I'll say goodnight to your sister and I'll meet you in the morning." she told Winter, who nodded.

They stopped in the entrance of the tent to see Taiyang was picking Ruby up, ready to carry her, as Weiss stayed close. Blake and Yang stood from where they had been sitting on a blanket and the latter stretched, probably ready for a proper bed. Willow walked over to Weiss, standing next to Taiyang. She hugged her and kissed her forehead.

"I'll see you in the morning, dear." she told her and Weiss nodded. "And congratulations." she added and Weiss looked at her confused.

"Your new glyph." Winter said, stepping close, so she did not have to raise her voice, in consideration to Ruby. "I've never seen anything like it."

"Our family records do not mention anything quite like it, either." Willow noted. "You have unlocked a power that no other Schnee has ever had." she told her and looked at Ruby. "All thanks to this precious girl." she tucked back a strand of hair on Ruby's face and nodded at Taiyang, who smiled.

"I believe some practicing may be in order, for tomorrow." Winter said and Weiss stared at her, uncomfortably. "After you have rested, of course." she added and Weiss frowned.

"Ruby's gonna go nuts, when she sees it." Yang lightly elbowed Weiss with a smile, standing next to her and Weiss could already imagine her excited face and the smile she grew to adore, as she looked at her sleeping form.

…

The noon sun warmed the battered capital surrounded by evacuee camps that had portable heat-generators deployed throughout the night. Within the walls, repurposed mechs were clearing away the rubble and dumping all debris into the chasm, over the unusual mountain of ice under the academy, while gallons of cement was poured on it, from trucks, like a waterfall, to cover it up. Filling the whole chasm would have been impossible and plans were already being drawn-up, by on-site engineers, standing over it with datapads, pointing everywhere, who were envisioning geothermal plants to be built in the depths to restore the power-grid, in addition to the construction of new dust-based generators to replace what was destroyed. The new shift of soldiers guarded the sites with the capital's remaining fleet drifting in the clear blue sky, as the infirmaries were filled and tasked to the maximum and beyond. The breaches on the shattered domes were already covered with layers of strong, thick fibers to keep the cold out and more generators were being air-lifted in.

The academy itself sustained damage, as its walls were smashed in, here and there. And entire wing was severed in two, likely by a Sea Feilong's lightning beam that went across it and parts of the roof collapsed, possibly from similar attacks and from the Griffons slamming into them, either on purpose or as they were shot down. The debris-cleared courtyard was filled with patched-up students and the press. On a podium, with a bouquet of microphones, Ironwood stood, with basic prosthetics, covered by his uniform, as he was addressing those gathered and the whole kingdom. In the front row, stood the remaining crew of the Mistral ships. Dozens of men and women, with their goggled-masks off, including their blue-eyed female, feline captain, who they only recognized by her uniform, but now could see her face; her leopard ears sticking out from her swept back, wavy, naturally grey hair that reached her human-ears. Next to them was team FNKI, exchanging glances with the ones standing behind Ironwood, close to the entrance. One side were members of the faculty and of the city's administration, forming a whole. On the other, lined up, were Willow, Winter, Qrow, Taiyang, teams RWBY, ORNJ and SSSN with Ghira and Ilia. The latter got a wink from Neon, which made her blush, while Isaiah had a similar exchange with Scarlet, as a raven watched, perched on the roof, above them.

"...and while the costs were great, the losses irreplaceable, our kingdom stands to honor their sacrifice by first acknowledging _those_ made by individuals who many in our kingdom and outside of it still regard as less than what they are. Their selflessness will serve as an example, not only for our citizens and for our soldiers, but for the rest of Remnant. So that we can truly build a world all of our forebears had in mind when they ended the Great War."

"Hey, maybe the Professor's, like, our grandpa." Nora threw it out there, to her team and the eyes of Oscar, Ren and Jaune went wide.

"We have to, therefore, learn from this victory over our greatest enemy, without forgetting to learn from defeat, also. From history. So that we never repeat the mistakes that were made. And the ones who will help ensure that is you." He said to the students. "And those of your fellow students and huntsmen, from across Remnant, who already stood with you." he gestured behind him.

"That's three academy attacks on our belt." Sun quietly boasted.

"We prevail _because_ of one another. And all of us owe it to them, to all those who came before us and all those who gave their lives. And we owe it to ourselves to come out as better people and stronger from it." he ended his address, which was followed by a thunderous applause that reached down to the city and echoed all the way down and back from the chasm. The students proudly stood, heads held high, as they cheered the man, themselves and those who were no longer with them, while some of those behind Ironwood nervously shifted from all the recognition they were getting, some thinking it was unnecessary. Ironwood raised his hand for them to abate. "And now...Miss Weiss Schnee would like to say a few words." he said and those around her were somewhat surprised when she stepped forward, then walked to the podium as Ironwood motioned for her to take his place as he stepped to the side. Weiss faced a different sort of crowd, this time and she took a moment to choose her words.

"Yesterday, I made a lot of promises to a lot people. To right the wrongs the company has done, while serving only its own interests. My father's interests. Today, as the head of the Schnee Dust Company, I will pledge its support and all of its resources, monetary and other, to the rebuilding of the capital and to helping the families of the people who gave their lives for all of us." she said and applauding came, but she raised a hand to stop it.

"I came back...scared of this kingdom. Scared of my father. And of what this kingdom was becoming while men like him influenced it. Scared, after what happened at Beacon that the same would happen here. I kept doubting myself. That I couldn't do anything. Against any of it. Against my father and against what this kingdom had become. I went to Beacon, only to spite him, but then...I met people. People who showed me what it was like to rely on someone else. To not be alone, even when I thought I was strong enough on my own. They showed me what _real_ friendship is. And I wouldn't be standing here, today, with others. I'm...ashamed to admit that I wouldn't even see many of them as _people_..." she looked at the Faunus of the White Fang. "If it weren't for them, who changed my life." she glanced back, at all of them, at her team and particularly at Ruby, who kept smiling at her words. Winter was slowly starting tear up, but she would not let herself actually cry as she listened to her grown sister's words. Her eyes were watering, but she still blinked away what was in them, as she thought of what their family had been through and what they could finally leave behind. She looked to her side as Qrow elbowed her, smirking.

"Hey, c'mon. Let 'em go. Give me somethin' I wouldn't let you live down." he teased her to cry and Winter elbowed him back.

"Ass." she said, but had a small smile as she turned back to the speech and Qrow did too.

"I couldn't be more thankful, for every one of them. They're from all over the world, from places that many don't even consider to be a rightful part of it. And so I'd like to take this moment to announce plans for a CCT tower and combat school to be established on the continent of Menagerie, as the first step, in reparation of a relationship that was never honored." Ghira and Ilia stepped forward, to the surprise of the others.

"And I'd like to...reintroduce..." she quickly corrected herself. "Ghira Belladonna, as the Ambassador of Menagerie, along with Ilia Amitola." Blake's eyes widened. "They will represent all Faunus, who were continually slighted, ever since the Great War. As General Ironwood said, we have to honor those who fought for a better world, to which I will also have my company contribute as much as it can, including the restoration of the CCT Tower in Vale, the rebuilding of their academy, as well as the relocation of the Schnee Dust Company headquarters to the city of Vale, as I plan to continue and finish my studies and training at Beacon Academy." Surprised whispers broke out at that news and even Willow and Winter did not expect it, by the looks of them and neither did Ironwood. The rest of team RWBY were also surprised, but happy, since it meant Weiss was moving her future place of work closer to them. "That would be all." she said, followed by applause as she stepped down and let Ghira to the podium, as Ilia stood beside him.

"Something tells me her studies are not the main reason she is moving the company to Vale." Willow said to Winter as Weiss stopped, putting a hand to her chest to exhale as she closed her eyes.

"Weiss?" She opened them, turning to Ruby. "Are you okay?" Ruby asked, worriedly and Weiss smiled, took a few long steps, then, she practically jumped to embrace her. They stayed that way for long seconds, with her arms around Ruby's neck, as she buried her face in the side of her neck.

"I've never been better." Weiss quietly stated and Ruby lightly blushed as she felt her breath, never having felt it like that before. Willow and Winter smiled with everyone as the former's suspicions were proven right, again and Ghira turned back towards the crowd to give a speech of his own.

...

Blake walked over to Ilia, after the event, as people were running around them. The press trying to get interviews and students who were going every which way.

"So…Ambassador Amitola." Ilia smiled, looking at her feet in slight embarrassment. "Has a nice ring to it. And who better to bring humans and Faunus together." Blake said.

"I think your father has a _little more_ experience than me." Ilia pointed out, trying to sell herself short.

"Both humans and Faunus, will need someone who has credibility. Someone who understands more than just one side." Blake told her and she could fall into that category, herself. "You and my dad were _made_ for this."

"Well, I…wouldn't exactly call it a… _calling_ …" Ilia made a face at her own words. "But, it feels like a good fit for me, right now. And…" she turned to look at Neon, who was talking with others, but caught her eyes and smiled at her. "It means I get to visit a lot." Ilia said and turned back to Blake, who noticed their exchange and she smiled at Ilia. "Thank you, again, Blake." Ilia said, somberly. "I wouldn't be here if you and your family weren't…the kind of people you are."

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't have the strength to be the kind of person you really are." Blake reminded her, it was also her own doing and Ilia gazed at her, appreciatively.

…

"Hh…I forgot how exhausting the press can be." Willow sighed as she stood with Winter, Ironwood, Qrow and Oscar, while the cavalcade of reporters, anchors and camera crew chased people around.

"The public haven't seen you in while." Ironwood pointed.

"Hmph. Good. I spared them of the sight. And myself of the humiliation. Not that I would have or…could have cared what the people thought of me, in the state that I was." Willow said.

"We should stop dwelling on it, perhaps." Winter suggested.

"Oh, but a little self-deprecation can keep one honest." Willow argued.

"It is sobering." Ozpin spoke. "Provided it isn't done in excess." He slowly glanced pointedly at Qrow, with a raised brow, who could see he had a small smile, too and he gave him a glare, as he knew he was referring to both his drinking and the self-blaming that came out of him, when he overdid it.

"What will you do, now, that…he's gone?" Ironwood asked Willow, not wanting to even say his name.

"I will get our estate in order. Starting with myself and my affairs." Willow replied.

"Affairs, huh?" Qrow raised a brow. Winter shook her head with a small glare.

"I won't pretend to know how it actually felt…living with him." Ironwood said, being awkwardly frank. "I've only seen how your family was with him around. But, knowing him, it had to be…suffocating." he wanted her to know he was empathetic. "Still…" Ironwood paused, phrasing his next words very carefully. "Won't something be…missing, now? From your life. A void." Willow's face did not move, at all, as she regarded him with a hint of amusement on her face, as Ironwood waited for her reply.

"Dinner." Willow stated, with the same expression.

"What?" Ironwood was slightly taken aback.

"Our estate. Nineteen-hundred hours. Sharp." she turned to leave. "Do not be late!" she said, over her shoulder to a completely bewildered Ironwood, as Winter stared, blinking between them, with her mouth open. Qrow started laughing at Ironwood.

"Mother!" Winter called after her, balling her fists and stomping her foot, over what she was doing.

"He is not your age, either, dear! Sorry to break your heart." Willow commented, making Winter nearly choke on words she could not even form from the embarrassing insinuation, as Qrow laughed harder.

…

Ruby was looking out at the city, from the heavily damaged, but still standing and functioning CCT Tower and Weiss stood closely next to her, looking down at it all.

"It could still be beautiful…even if it looked cold and heartless, at first. But, now it's all ruined." Weiss said. "I'm sorry I couldn't show you more of it."

"Even if you don't really like it here, anymore?" Ruby quietly asked, looking at her with sadness and getting to what they have been avoiding. Weiss averted her eyes, guiltily, then sighed, looking ahead.

 _[Once I was a world apart, with coldness in my heart,_

 _I ran from my marble prison, I wouldn't play my part.]_

"When I came to Beacon…I was like _this_ place. Like its people, at their _worst_. I was obnoxious. Entitled. Hateful. Everything I can't stand, now."

 _[Away from my family, I would take back my destiny,_

 _Thought I needed no one, my name alone would carry me on.]_

"I thought I'd come to Beacon to show my father I didn't need his help. That I didn't need _anyone's_ help. I acted like I was better than anyone. And when people told me my faults I couldn't accept it.

 _[Difficult and full of pride, the ugliness I wouldn't hide_

 _Wouldn't admit that I was wrong, I believed it made me strong.]_

"I felt like I was being forced to accept help and realizing I actually needed it was…not easy. But, I knew it was the only way I would succeed."

 _[Couldn't take the simple truth, but learned it was the right route,_

 _Grades and grit weren't enough, alone this road would be rough.]_

"And you kept coming back. You never stopped trying to be my friend, even after how I treated you. You showed something in me I didn't know was there."

 _[But, you kept running into me, never stopped until I'd see,_

 _The one who'd break all my ice, a sudden blessing in disguise.]_

"I wouldn't even acknowledge you as our leader, but then I was trusting you with my life and it made me feel…like I was more than I ever could've been, here."

 _[Refused to believe in you, then your crazy plans I'd follow through,_

 _Your face would light up mine, and my soul would shine.]_

Weiss gazed out towards the horizon for a few moments as Ruby looked at her.

 _[Mirror, mirror, I've never known this feeling._

 _How do I even understand its meaning?]_

"I was in a dark place." Weiss continued. "Before Beacon and after we came here. But you made me a better person. Someone I never knew I needed to be." she paused, then turned to Ruby, taking both of her hands into hers. "I could never have done any of this without you."

 _[Am I scared to know? Can I even tell you so?_

 _Should I take your hand, isn't this how fairy-tales end?]_

"But…I didn't really do anything." Ruby obliviously shook her head and Weiss smiled at her humble innocence.

"That's just it…" she shook her head. "You don't even see how special you are. And it's not because of your ability, or your _silver-eyes_ …although, I am a little jealous of that." Weiss jokingly said. "But, it's because you always know what to do. And you're never afraid to do it. My mom…told me what you said to her, the first time you met." Weiss shook her head, again. "No one would've even dared to say anything to her, never mind what _you_ said. And you just said it. Because you thought it would help. And it did. You helped my family get back together and now…

 _[Now it's warm, we're through the storm,_

 _The shadows of the past, would never last.]_

"My father is gone. I reclaimed my birthright and my mother is back in my life, closer to me than ever."

 _[I knew this day would come but now that it's done,_

 _Here with an empty throne, I am not alone.]_

"I always knew it would end with me coming back here, but now, I'm actually here, with my grandfather's legacy and my family's…but I'm not alone."

 _[It's time to break down the walls, watch all hate as it falls,_

 _The world will see us join hands, from frozen mountains to the sands.]_

"I…don't just want to move the company to Vale, because this place doesn't feel like home, anymore." "And not just because of my training and studies, either." Weiss confessed

 _[No matter if everything's dark, you will always have the spark,_

 _Hope is never gone, while you're here there's always a new dawn.]_

"I know where I want to be." she raised Ruby hands to her chest. "And it's wherever you are. And wherever we go." Weiss let go and embraced her. Ruby stared ahead of her, unblinking and her eyes wavered, as Weiss' embrace felt…different. She did not know what it was. But, it was not a bad feeling. And as Weiss pulled back to look at her, she smiled, somewhat shyly, briefly averting her eyes.

 _[Spreading with your fun, petals scatter in the sun,_

 _Like wings free in the sky, they fly towards your light._

 _I look into your eyes, where I see no lies,_

 _Your innocent smile, there's no more denial.]_

Weiss held her hand, again and turned to look at the horizon, glancing at Ruby, who did the same and both knew that whatever life will have in store for them, they would face it together.

 _[Mirror, mirror, I can see her, standing with me,_

 _Not a grand illusion, never thought this could be,_

 _I know what I want to do, it's to change the world with you,_

 _To hear your laughter and live happily ever after.]_

 **THE END**

(Read on for two post-credits scenes)

 **Author's note** : Now, everyone reading this surely noticed minor to larger similarities, both in the narration, scenes, plot and maybe even the song lyrics I have written, compared to V6's. However, the only thing I took from it, that I've mentioned, was the Ruby-Weiss combo, when Ruby uses her semblance to sweep up Weiss into a blur with her. I had already written half the fic, before I saw that in the trailer. And I didn't think they'd have them do something like that between Ruby and Weiss, even if it was only for escape and not for combat, like when Ruby did it with Nora. And _that's_ about it.

I could've rewritten the properties and behavior of the Relic of Knowledge, too. But, I went with my own idea for it. I could've had it attract Grimm, after watching the premiere, but as it wasn't my own idea, I didn't include it. So it didn't actually attract Grimm, in my fic, as it does in the series. And I, too, thought it should take time to recharge, before it could be used again, for balance's sake, but rather than a whole century, I already thought of something different for it, before the Volume premiered.

…

Watts' mention of a colleague was a reference to the antagonist of the video-game **RWBY: Grimm Eclipse** , the events of which are actually canon and take place between Volumes 2 and 3.

…

The Schnee's Semblance: In the scene where Weiss uses a small black glyph to keep her father's office door locked, so Ironwood can't leave, the revolving chamber of her Myrtenaster does not move, nor does it look like it has (purple) gravity dust selected. The same thing in V6, Chapter 1, at the end, when the train is derailed and she prevents everyone from falling off, keeping them in place with black glyphs. The above _clearly_ shows that she doesn't use dust for, at least, those kind of glyphs, neither is she shown to rotate the chamber of her weapon to select Ice Dust, when she uses ice-based attacks.

For the time-dilation, she may be using lightning dust, and she definitely used fire-dust against the lancers. She may have a preference for ice, but given that she can only carry a limited amount of vials to load into her weapon (not counting her rapier's box), she seems to use Ice an awful lot. It's suspicious that **a)** she doesn't ever rotate her chamber to actively select ice dust (barring missing animation), as she does with every other element and **b)** she's not exactly running out of Ice ammunition, ever.

Also, in the Volume 5 Character Short for Weiss, there is a scene where waves of ice that look like fins out of the water, come at her from both side, one after the other, trying to throw her off balance. Those, appear to be ice-based. Winter is the one testing her. And unless she also has different dust vials slotted into her sword, then she is using the element of ice, **without** dust.

All of which leads me to believe that the ICE element is a natural part of their semblance, to begin with. Their family crest is a snowflake for more than one reason, I believe. Not just because they're from a cold continent. And this fic was also my take on why that may be the case. Willow, as a Maiden was able to use ligthning on her glyhps to focus them. Ice was a given.

...

Scarlet being into men was something Miles Luna suggested to the writers of the Manga, but is not officially canon and neither are the Manga chapters. Good thing, too. Because in them, Ruby states she likes boys, but I think Ruby is far too innocent and far too much of a dork to have even considered relationships and what gender she likes. And I have written her as such, with that conversation I had her have with Ilia. Now, admittedly portraying her as someone who hasn't even heard of same-sex couples may have been a little too much, but considering her personality and that she grew up away from and unexposed to most of society, it is believable, I think. I did include Scarlet's sexuality, though, to have a little balance, since I had at least three ships in it that were femslash.

Ilia and Neon. **Double Rainbow**? I had Blake and Yang grew closer. And of course I'm big on White Rose, which I kept strictly one-sided. Or at least made the ending uncertain for how Ruby felt. On purpose. Since, if it ever actually happens, it would be neat if Weiss would develop romantic feelings for Ruby, first. Considering how their friendship started. And in V2 Weiss still considered Ruby a kid, as she's two years younger than her. So it would be funny, in a way, if Weiss would fall in love with her, first. Also, Yang probably wouldn't let her live it down, considering how Weiss used to be towards Ruby. It would be sweeter that way. But, of course, if Ruby would be certain of her feelings, too, that would be fine. And I wouldn't care if it'd take till V10, but White Rose has to happen (and Bumblebee, too, course). And considering all the little ship-tease they've done in the intro and in the V6, so far, I can actually have basis for hope that it eventually happens.

(Mid-Credits Scene)

Team RWBY and Zwei were walking along the edge of the academy's courtyard, looking down at the city. Yang and Blake fell behind, as Ruby and Weiss ran ahead, playing with Zwei.

"Come on, Zwei!" Ruby exclaimed and let herself and Weiss be chased by him. Weiss took Ruby's hand as they jumped up on a ledge, at the foot of a statue, then laughed, waiting for Zwei to come after them. Yang stopped to look at the two, as Zwei wiggled his tail, standing on his hind-legs as he pressed against the wall of the ledge, barking up at them. She looked at their faces and the way they were still holding each other's hand. Blake wondered what made Yang stop and smile like that.

"What is it?" Blake asked and followed her eyes, to see Zwei back up, then jump up to Ruby and Weiss and the two had to run from him, towards the other end.

"Oh, nothing." Yang lightly shook her head, as they ran, thinking back to their entrance exam and how far her little sister and Weiss had come. How much they had been through, since, along with their friendship. And where it seemed to be, in that moment.

…

And now...the two songs, in full, with no interruption, as I imagine they'd be sung by Casey Lee. The larger one I wrote months ago, already having had the final scene in mind, including everything that happened that the song can refer to. And I didn't alter any lines in it, either, since. The smaller one I wrote recently, as I wrote the scene it is placed in.

Confession (Mirror, Mirror Part III)

 _[Another moon could shatter,_

 _Our halcyon days are gone.]_

 _[Doesn't even matter,_

 _You still smile on.]_

 _[But, I look into your eyes_

 _See my ugliness inside.]_

 _[In noble disguise_

 _I tried to hide.]_

 _[All the anger breaking through_

 _I know I should do without.]_

 _[But I know what's true_

 _And I want to shout.]_

 _[Forgive the faults of mankind_

 _Honor-bound to do what's right.]_

 _[No one is left blind_

 _Remain in the light.]_

 _[I will still answer the call_

 _I will not let them fall, but…]_

 _[Mirror, mirror…_

 _On the wall_

 _I'm not the fairest…_

 _Of them all.]_

…

Reflections on a Rose (Mirror, Mirror Part IV)

 _(Slow)_

 _Once I was a world apart, with coldness in my heart,_

 _I ran from my marble prison, I wouldn't play my part._

 _Away from my family, I would take back my destiny,_

 _Thought I needed no one, my name alone would carry me on._

 _(Fast)_

 _Difficult and full of pride, the ugliness I wouldn't hide_

 _Wouldn't admit that I was wrong, I believed it made me strong._

 _Couldn't take the simple truth, but learned it was the right route,_

 _Grades and grit weren't enough, alone this road would be rough._

 _But, you kept running into me, never stopped until I'd see,_

 _The one who'd break all my ice, a sudden blessing in disguise_

 _Refused to believe in you, then your crazy plans I'd follow through,_

 _Your face would light up mine, and my soul would shine._

 _Mirror, mirror, I've never known this feeling._

 _How do I even understand its meaning?_

 _Am I scared to know? Can I even tell you so?_

 _Should I take your hand, isn't this how fairy-tales end?_

 _(Slow)_

 _Now it's warm, we're through the storm,_

 _The shadows of the past, would never last._

 _I knew this day would come but now that it's done,_

 _Here with an empty throne, I am not alone._

 _(Fast)_

 _It's time to break down the walls, watch all hate as it falls,_

 _The world will see us join hands, from frozen mountains to the sands._

 _No matter if everything's dark, you will always have the spark,_

 _Hope is never gone, while you're here there's always a new dawn._

 _Spreading with your fun, petals scatter in the sun,_

 _Like wings free in the sky, they fly towards your light._

 _I look into your eyes, where I see no lies,_

 _Your innocent smile, there's no more denial._

 _Mirror, mirror, I can see her, standing with me,_

 _Not a grand illusion, never thought this could be,_

 _I know what I want to do, it's to change the world with you,_

 _To hear your laughter and live happily ever after._

…

(End-Credits Scene)

(1 Week After the Catalysm)

Jacque Gelé, having been stripped of the Schnee name and with one of his arms in a sling, was sitting in a cell, exactly like the one he had Klein put in, glaring daggers into the wall. The silence in which he was slowly boiling from anger was broken by surprised and painful cries from the guards, who fell to the ground, as they have been electrocuted, judging by the crackling of an electrical discharge. Jacque's eyes moved, looking at the door of his cell from their corner and he listened as he heard soft, calm footsteps that grew closer. After seeing a pair of elegant shoes, he raised his gaze to see Arthur Watts, who stood in front of the glass pane of his cell, with a hand behind his back. Jacque slowly stood to face him, clearly seeing some amusement on his face and a moment passed, before he spoke.

"You." he acknowledged him with familiarity. "Is it the season, already?" he asked with some snide.

"We so rarely keep in touch." Watts said. "I heard you had a bit of a change in you'h fortune, recently."

"You were never one _not_ to gloat, but that's not why you're here. Or for a reunion." Jacque knowingly stated.

" _Family_ seems to be a very loose term these days." Watts stated.

"Don't remind me." Jacque told him, not with any disdain, but as if he was cautioning him.

"Why, Cousin, I'm offended!" Watts placed his hand on his chest, in a mocking fashion. "Surely you do not have any misgivings about the past!"

"Of course not." Jacque stated, as they both knew it was the case. "I couldn't care less about your little experiments, as long as no one knew of our connection."

"Well, now that both of ou'h reputations have been irreparably ruined, you needn't worry, anymo'h." Watts offered an entirely non-comforting response.

"How _liberating_." Jacque dryly replied, looking him in the eye with a searching glare, still unsure if he was simply there to mock him or free him.

"Mh." Watts found the irony in his choice of words amusing. "Perhaps this will be more to you'h liking, then." he said and from the hand he had behind his back he brought forth a disk-shaped device that he attached to the control panel on the wall. It gave a few busy noises as it sent a stream of data through and in a few seconds the doors of the cell pulled open. Jacque was not surprised by it.

"Still making your toys?" he coyly asked.

"I neve'h quite lost my inne'h child." Watts replied with a sly look that had malice more dangerous behind it than any child could have. Jacque stepped out of the cell. "My employe'h very much prefe'hz when one stays...passionate in their pursuits." he noted, thinking of Hazel's burning hatred for Ozpin, Tyrian's crazed devotion and even Cinder's lust for power that drove them.

"You're working for someone?" It somewhat surprised Jacque. "That's a first. They must be out of this world if they got _you_ interested enough to tinker away for them." He always knew Watts as someone who only did things for himself, to satisfy his own curiosity, by whatever means, serving no one else's interests but his own.

"You have no idea." Watts ominously said. "I cannot wait for you to meet her." he added with genuine excitement and Jacque raised a brow at the pronoun, finding it even more unusual that it was, apparently, a woman.


End file.
